


Killing Strangers (Leave Me Alone)

by eri_quin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Fem!Ezra, Genderbending, fem!Luke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9258614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: The beginning, the becoming, and the present of Agent Kallus.The child, the street rat, and the girl that is Ezra Bridger.When Ezra accidentally forms a Force bond with the agent, their lives are suddenly dependent on each other. Bastila Shan and Darth Revan's accident is recreated, and the crew have to bring along Kallus until they find a fix.Fem!Ezra/Kallus.





	1. An Opera Stage the World Don't Need

This was where Ezra Bridger died. And no, she wasn't being dramatic. She totally wasn't.

There were blasterfire all around her, and she was (with the rest of the Ghost Crew) in the midst of a firefight with Agent Kallus' unit. They had gotten word that a rebel unit in the area had needed help, only to be ambushed by Kallus and his Stormtroopers and locked into an entanglement that was lasting for almost an hour. Just then a series of minor explosions occurred near them and everyone scrambled to run away from them. Somehow or other, she found herself running alongside Kallus, but the one glance she took at him cost her as she didn't notice the biggest explosion yet, happening at the moment next to them, and hitting Kallus nearly full force and was knocked right into her.

They landed somewhere off to the side, and Ezra's vision was swimming while her ears wrung from the loud blast of the explosion. Coughing from the smoke, she tried to sit up, only to find Kallus heavily on her. Heaving (and using the Force), she managed to push him off of her before she went to see how he was. Her eyes widened at his condition, seeing him bleeding out and barely clinging to life.

Biting her lip, she didn't know what to do now.

' _All life is precious.'_

It wasn't a voice she recognized, whoever it was that spoke in her head. Faint though it was, she recognized the female tone, but not who. It wasn't Ahsoka…Definitely not Kanan, though Ezra was feeling like she was having a Yoda moment (like in the temple)…But unless Yoda had suddenly changed sex, it wasn't him either.

Still, she thought about the words more and looked hard at the dying Kallus. She also remembered Kanan's similar lecture.

"A Jedi seeks to preserve all life," she murmured, and then placed her hands on him and willed the Force to do _something_. She had to save him. She just…had to.

Ezra was concentrating so hard that she didn't notice how her body was beginning to lose energy and that her sight was getting darker and darker. Soon enough, without meaning to, she blacked out on top of Kallus. However, her mind didn't close down and disappear into a void of darkness.

No, that wasn't the case. For some reason, Ezra found herself in the middle of a dark gray room that was practically bare. A few things covered the place to show it was lived in, but it was minimal at best. There was a lump on the bed and Ezra curiously drew closer, until she was close enough to see it was a young boy.

The room's door slid open then and a pretty woman came in. "Cor? Cor, are you awake?"

The young boy on the bed shifted before slowly getting up.

"I'm up, Nana," he said quietly, and Ezra gasped. She recognized those eyes anywhere –the only person she knew with natural bright bronze (gold in the right light) eyes. This was a younger Kallus. She had no idea how or why, but the ISB Agent was right in front of her as a kid!

"Come, Cor," 'Nana' smiled gently at him. "It's breakfast time. Then you have to get to school."

"Okay," Kallus' voice was still quiet, and it made Ezra stare at him. He just…didn't seem like the agent she knew.

And so Ezra found Kallus having breakfast, and quietly followed him around like a ghost as he apparently got ready for the day.

* * *

It was raining. He didn't know when it had started, but he was in the middle of the street when it had started raining on him.

Kallus wasn't sure where he was or what had happened. The last thing he remembered was that he had been in the middle of a fight with the usual group of rebels that he was always after, and then there had been explosions that caused him to run with everyone else. He had somehow gotten to be by Ezra Bridger's side when a bigger explosion knocked him off of his feet and towards the girl. However, he didn't remember much after that. Only that he was in extreme pain and he could barely see or be aware of anything.

He had noticed, though, that girl had been touching him. She had been concentrating intently and he remembered feeling some sort of energy flowing through him…

"Ezra~ Little _Ezra_ …don't run too far, little Loth-catling," a man sing-songed, and Kallus moved to face him in surprise.

He nearly let his jaw drop as he saw the little girl giggling and dancing through the rain, ahead of a couple he presumed was her parents.

Why in the galaxy was he seeing Bridger as a little girl?

"Mama," Bridger tossed out her hands. "The rain is going to wash me away!"

"Is it, catling?" the beautiful woman by the man's side smiled softly at her daughter. "But if you're washed away, where will our little girl go?"

Bridger giggled and danced back to her parents, hugging them both tightly.

"Sillies~ I'm right here, Mama, Papa. I'll never leave you. Just like you won't ever leave me, right?"

"Of course, little catling," the man Kallus knew from his file as Ephraim Bridger caressed his daughter's hair. "We'll be with you until the end of time."

"Our little Loth-catling will never be rid of us!" Mira Bridger's prison picture didn't serve her justice.

The girl, Ezra…she just smiled widely and held onto her parents.

Kallus watched the scene with dead eyes.

"You poor child," he blinked lethargically. "They're going to leave you soon."

They really shouldn't have lied to their child. Maybe then, she wouldn't have been so bitter and cynical upon Kallus' first meeting with her.

* * *

Kallus' first name was Coriolan. He was Coriolan (called 'Cor' by his Nana) Kallus. He was currently five years old, living and being raised on the planet of Coruscant (Ezra remembered from somewhere, that she'd read his home planet was Coruscant). It was also currently in the middle of the Clone Wars, meaning that Kallus had grown up in the middle of it (she also remembered something about him being born before the Invasion of Naboo).

Ezra also figured out that apparently she was in his memories. How and why she was in his memories, she had yet to figure out though.

Kallus was a cute kid. That was unexpected. Smart too, not that she was surprised about that at least. The moment he'd stepped into the Coruscant Academy, she could tell. He was young, but didn't go to the younger grades. Instead, he was apparently in a more advanced level class, where she could easily see him at the top of the class while also unexpectedly not acting like a total bookish student. In fact, to her surprise, he was actually very friendly and sociable, and a favorite with the teacher and the other students.

He wasn't like the Kallus she knew at all.

Although he worked as hard as she knew he probably did in present time. His work ethic hadn't changed, it seemed. He also was very strict on himself, and followed the authority of those higher than him closely. All of which she knew that the Kallus she was used to would do and would think like.

Still, Ezra wondered where his father was. Or his mother. She hadn't met them yet, and Kallus hadn't revealed anything that she could find out. Mostly, she wondered if they had any bearing on who Kallus was now.

Overall, while she could find glimpses of the man she knew in this little boy, she couldn't really see how the ISB Agent that haunted her and her crew was the very same little boy that was helping a little girl fix her broken doll.

"Sh," Kallus murmured. "It's alright now. It's all back together, see? Like brand new."

"S'anks," the little girl blinked back her tears before smiling widely.

Kallus gave a small smile back.

"You're welcome."

Ezra really couldn't see him in this little boy at all.

* * *

If a man like Kallus could admit it, he would admit that little Ezra was a cute girl. She was bright and happy, and very affectionate with everyone she came in contact with. It was…unlike the girl he knew. She was so precocious, though at least she sometimes still was now.

Truthfully, he was sure that (after meeting and bonding with the Lothal rebel cell) Ezra was now much more happier and softhearted than she had been back when she was in that cell with Kallus. They'd softened her, made her want to trust and hope again.

But he also remembered a darker, bitterer, even angrier her. An Ezra that was disbelieving in people and the world.

" _People don't do that. They just don't."_

"Indeed they don't," Kallus muttered, watching as Ezra hummed in the kitchen, helping her mother prepare dinner.

Sometime soon, this little girl would no longer be the smiling, happy child in front of him. She'd stop believing. She'd distrust so much easier. It would be hard to gain her trust.

Sometime, probably after her parents' arrest, Ezra would close herself off to the world and everyone in it.

She wouldn't let anyone in.

Not until she met with Kallus, told him her beliefs, and had those beliefs shattered and ironically Kallus proven right as those rebels came back for her. That Jedi and his friends would be the very key to showing her that people could be trusted and that she didn't have to ward everyone off.

Though Ezra wore a happy-go-lucky façade back then, these days that façade was much more real and she wasn't so distrustful anymore.

It was practically a shame that the batter-covered girl giggling in this kitchen was about to have her life come crashing down on her at any time.

"Come, little Loth-cat! Dear catling, you need a bath badly."

"Meh! Water, water, wash away?"

"Oh, maybe just this once," Mira laughed.

"I'm sorry," Kallus murmured in the empty room.

Talking to the Lasat…to Zeb on that Geonosis moon…he wished he didn't have to see their lives as it were, nor see Ezra Bridger's life be torn apart.

It was never his intention to be a cruel person.

* * *

"Over here! I found her over here! And you're not going to believe who else I found with her!" Kanan heard Sabine yell out.

Quickly rushing over to the rebel artist, his stomach dropped at the sight of his Padawan passed out and looking too pale. He cringed at seeing Kallus though, and more so at the fact that for some reason Ezra was on top of him.

"Let's just pack her up and go?" Zeb asked, heading over already.

"Yeah. The Empire will pick Kallus up, so leave him behind to be taken cared of," Kanan ordered, and Zeb went to follow that as he grabbed Ezra and began to carry her away from the downed ISB Agent.

However, Ezra whimpered while Kallus started to groan. The group of three there looked at each other in confusion, about to dismiss it as nothing. But Zeb took a few more steps away from Kallus, and Ezra began squirming in his hold.

"She's burning up!" Zeb noted in shock, cringing at the heat in his arms. Not even his fur was protecting him from it. "Karabast, Kanan! What's going on?"

"I don't know," Kanan was equally shocked and confused.

Sabine frowned, looking between Ezra and then Kallus, who was suddenly writhing on the ground a little more now.

"Zeb, walk closer to Kallus," Sabine said and Zeb gave her a blank look. "Just do it!"

Grumbling, Zeb did so and noted that the teenager in his arms started to become less restless and the heat was dying down. Tentatively, he moved away again and noticed the symptoms coming back. He groaned aloud, and then explained his observations to the other two.

"Thought so," Sabine nodded to herself. "I noticed the reactions had started the moment you grabbed Ezra and moved her away from him, while also seeing that the two of them were _both_ having reactions in the first place. Whatever happened from the time of the explosion and separation from us, to the time where they were here together…something must've happened, which caused this."

"Whatever this is," Kanan muttered. He sighed. "Just bring them both then. Here. Hand over Ezra, Zeb. You handle Kallus."

Kanan was going to have to figure out what happened quickly, because they were going to be having an ISB Agent on board as a guest for an indeterminable amount of time, and he knew that no good could come out of that.

Started 3/16/16 – Completed 3/16/16


	2. Blow Us a Kiss

Coriolan Kallus.

Ezra was still trying to get used to hearing Kallus' first name. She was also trying to get used to how _sweet_ he had been, because if she hadn't seen it for herself, she wouldn't have believed it.

She also finally met his father.

Drayt Kallus was a man that Ezra would have disliked upon first meeting. He was harsh on his son, and she could see instantly how and which traits Kallus had adopted. He was a military man, who made sure to teach his son every value that had been imparted upon himself, even if it meant smacking his son around when he disapproved of something.

It made Ezra want to take Kallus and run away (which caught her off guard, especially given who she was thinking of).

On the other hand, Kallus didn't know who his mother was or what she was like. The one time he'd dared to ask, in front of Ezra too, it had turned out really bad for the poor kid.

"Don't ask," Drayt had hissed at his son. "And don't ever ask about her again!"

His hand snapped towards Kallus' face, smashing against it with a force that caused him to hit the ground harshly. It made Ezra bristle and march towards Kallus, intent on shielding him until she remembered that she was invisible and in his memories. There wasn't anything she could do and this had already come to pass.

Still…

"You're an asshole," she hissed out, glaring heatedly at Drayt Kallus angrily.

And time passed, where she watched similar incidents and feeling helpless, knowing there was nothing she could do. Kallus, who she had reluctantly come to adore as a sweet, considering child that was kind and often worried about others, began to change through the years as his father molded his son into something different. Kallus' father disapproved of such weakness and sought to stomp it out, and soon enough Kallus began to adapt. Ezra watched Kallus change, learning to become impassive (she saw that face one too many times) and to hide his emotions (but he'd been such an open child…).

Nana had come and gone, leaving behind Kallus. Kallus, who soon became alone with no one else but his father.

At night, Kallus would lay in bed and Ezra would lie down next to him, lightly brushing the young boy's hair back. He'd sleep with tears in his eyes and Ezra would just stay there, even though she knew it was all just memories and there was nothing she could really do. But she still ended up trying, and tried not to think of how no good it was.

Because it really wasn't any fair.

* * *

Ezra was a bit of a lonely child sometimes, Kallus noticed. Despite her happy exterior, sometimes the little girl would quietly play by herself in her home. She didn't have any friends, and didn't seem to go out of the house much.

The worse part was that her family, who she loved and would always be around as much as possible, were doing those broadcasts much more frequently now.

It wouldn't be long until they left her behind.

Another effect of her parents focusing on those broadcasts so much was that it left Ezra alone much more often. So she was playing and just being around only herself, and it was no wonder how she would become so lonely sometimes.

Kallus found her endearing though, and wished he wasn't there and watching all this.

"Loth-kitty!" Ezra giggled and scooped up the stray she'd found just outside her home.

"Miaow~" the small Loth-cat squirmed in the little girl's arms.

"Don't play with it," Kallus told her, even though he knew he couldn't be heard. "It could have flees or rabies."

But it went on deaf ears, like he knew it would, and instead Ezra snuggled up against it.

"Mama and Papa, they're recording again," Ezra told it quietly, and Kallus stiffened up. "They're always in that little room and they don't have time for me anymore," she ended sadly.

"They're doing something important," Kallus found himself saying, found himself trying to reassure and comfort her. "They're doing something they feel is important for you and to teach you what is right and to do the right thing."

"I feel so lonely," Ezra continued, oblivious to his murmurings. "I want to cook with Mama in the kitchen and play with Papa in the rain, like we used to. But they don't have time for me anymore."

"Even when they're not with you, their time is always for you and about you," Kallus whispered, watching the little girl start to cry on the Loth-cat.

He walked closer and knelt down, hesitantly reaching out. His hand faltered before he rubbed her head, knowing she probably couldn't feel the gesture.

* * *

Kanan frowned as he sat on the chair in the infirmary, watching the two bodies on the separate beds. Kallus and Ezra seemed fine for the moment, but none of them could figure out what was wrong or why they were like this in the first place.

"It just makes no sense," he muttered to himself.

"Nothing really makes sense anymore," Hera walked into the infirmary, giving him a tired smile. "How're they?"

"Stable," Kanan answered, trying not to sound frustrated.

"But?" Hera prodded, knowing something was on Kanan's mind.

"I just don't understand what happened," Kanan admitted. "Or why they're like this."

"So nothing in your Jedi history can compare?" Hera tried to be helpful.

Kanan opened his mouth to answer in the negative, but he closed it and thought on that more closely. There was…

He stood up and walked closer to the two, trying to corroborate the theory he now had. He looked over Kallus, noted the bloodstains on the man's uniform and on his skin. Then he looked over at Ezra, seeing nothing too injurious on her. He placed a hand first on her and then on Kallus.

"He was injured. Too injured," he talked aloud. "Ezra looks fine…"

He could feel his bond with Ezra steady, but something was heavily 'laying' on it, making it lethargic and almost dense-feeling. Like an extra weight had settled on or around it…

Kanan hesitantly felt Kallus, and reached out and felt a ghost of a bond –not connecting him to the ISB Agent, but like a translucent transference of a bond that he was feeling kind of like through second-hand. It wasn't his bond to Kallus…it was Ezra's that he was feeling because of his own bond to her…

He started cursing, causing Hera to look at him in surprise and apprehension.

"Did you think of something, Kanan?"

"A long time ago, in one of the Great Sith Wars," Kanan started with a flat tone, "there was a Jedi Knight named Bastila Shan. She and some others attacked and infiltrated a ship that belonged to Darth Revan, a Sith Lord that was heading the war. He was betrayed by another Sith and ended up close to death, and Shan ended up saving his life and accidentally forming a Force bond."

"Which is what you think –" Hera quickly understood.

"What happened," he finished the train of thought unhappily. "Ezra and Kallus had been running in the same direction. One of the explosions must've really hurt Kallus to the point that he was near death. Ezra ended up saving him for Force knows why, and ended up creating some sort of Force bond between them. Now they're connected and for some reason, also both knocked out and not waking up anytime soon. That I still have no explanation for."

"We'll figure it out," Hera told him softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We always do."

Kanan sighed, nodding reluctantly.

"In the meantime, I think we should get the others together and tell them what's happened," Hera suggested. "Make sure everyone knows and if they might come up with any ideas as to what happened for them to still be unconscious, or maybe suggestions as to how to get them to wake up."

"Yeah, okay," he muttered.

The two had better be okay and wake up soon, preferably Ezra. And plus, she had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Ezra watched Kallus sit at his desk in his room, his face unemotional and making him look much more older than the child he was supposed to be.

"You should be playing," she told him.

His hand swiped across the tablet.

"Being stuck here, being alone…it sucks and you're too young to act like the adult you," Ezra's voice began to become desperate.

Kallus' eyes didn't move from the tablet, nor had his whole body really changed much from the position it had been since he had been sat down at that desk by his father an hour ago.

"You could go read outside," she tried to suggest. "Find some kids and read to them…read under a tree, in the park…Don't just sit and read in this room…Galaxy above, this isn't even a room! It's not a real room! Where are the toys? The pictures, the colors? It doesn't even look like an adult's room! It's just bland and bare and-and _unlived_ in!"

It was driving her crazy. The room was so lifeless and Kallus was becoming more and more lifeless under the influence of his father. She wanted to shake him harshly and stop him from changing from the little boy that she had really come to like, the little boy that had helped out that little girl with the broken doll.

This? This wasn't Kallus. Not the Kallus he should have been. This was just his father and his father's words and his father's lectures and his father's fists –

"Kallus," she stood next to the young boy. "Do you remember when we first met?" she asked suddenly. "Do you remember what I said to you? And what you had said to me? And even at the end, there was a glimpse of the considerate you, the little boy who was sweet, when you went to put your hand on me and instead changed your mind and brushed something off my shoulder. I saw that. I didn't have lint or anything there, but you had your hand already reaching out and it was too late to pull it back without pointing out the move. And even then, it still turned out to be strangely a considerate move of you, 'brushing off lint.' You screwed up looking impassive then, and I can see that this kid is still there."

But he didn't heed her words, bronze eyes fully focused on the tablet he was holding.

"Please," she croaked out, sniffing slightly as she rubbed her eyes.

She didn't want to view his memories anymore.

* * *

"Ezra? Darling, we need to talk to you."

Dread filled Kallus at those words, and instinctively he knew just what was going to be said and just what was going to happen soon. For the past week, he'd watched Ezra and with her as her parents argued late in the night, thinking she was asleep when she really wasn't. Now it had all culminated to this point, and Kallus knew that what was to be said had been for her ears only, and he shouldn't be there or hear any of this.

But there he was, and he stayed rooted to the spot as Mira and Ephraim sat their daughter down in front of them, and began explaining what they'd been doing, what the Empire was doing to the people of Lothal and all over the galaxy, what they were fighting for and what they were trying and hoping to teach her and instill in her. Most of all, they explained how they had crossed too many lines and that soon they might be taken away.

But Ezra just started crying and clutching onto them. "I don't care!" she wailed. "I just want you to stay with me! Who cares about the people and the Empire! I just want Mama and Papa!"

"I love you, Loth-catling," Ephraim held onto her, brushing her hair back. "But you must listen carefully. Remember what we are fighting and that what we fight most of all for is _you_. Your right to live and be free and to choose your life and will. We want you to live a full, happy life –a life of your own and not be forced under the will of the Empire."

Kallus felt himself freeze, wondering if there were secondary meanings to what Ephraim was saying to his daughter, if he and Mira had indeed known that Ezra was Force-sensitive and could have and might've been taken by the Empire had that been found out…

"My sweet, beautiful daughter," Mira kissed Ezra's forehead. "Don't you ever forget how much we love you. We love you so much."

Banging on the door startled all of them, even Kallus who had been watching the scene intently.

"Open up! We're here for Ephraim and Mira Bridger!"

Ezra's parents looked at each other fearfully, before Ephraim took his daughter and carried her over to a closet. He opened it quickly and set his daughter inside, kneeling down so he could face his daughter.

"My beautiful girl," he murmured. "Grow up strong and don't be afraid. Keep that huge, loving heart of yours."

He kissed her nose and then pulled her in for a tight hug, but all too soon he was pulling away and closing the closet as the banging on the door grew louder and more frequent. Mira opened it and Stormtroopers flooded into the small home's living room, putting handcuffs onto Mira and Ephraim and then harshly dragging them out of the house.

Kallus stood with Ezra in the dark closet, keeping quiet as she stifled her sobs and was left alone with the ghostly spectre.

Started 3/20/16 – Completed 3/20/16


	3. We've Got Guns

Ezra found the years somehow skimming by. She wanted to punch Drayt Kallus in the face all the time, while she sometimes wanted to either shake Agent Kallus' kid self and scream at him that he shouldn't be like this or just hug him tightly.

At nineteen, the Clone Wars ended and Kallus was attending the newly renamed and reworked Royal Imperial Academy of Coruscant as Emperor Palpatine declared the Republic now a Galactic Empire and himself an emperor. He would have graduated by then, but he enrolled into the Royal Academy's military program and would be in it for an additional two years before he would graduate the academy.

The military training program was harsh and grueling, but Kallus persevered and Ezra was surprised but pleased that he at least managed to make a friend out of another man by the name of Jovan. Jovan became a bit of an informal mentor, and the two of them completed their course of study together. Ezra felt strange about feeling a bit proud of Kallus for graduating (and graduating top of his class at that!). She was getting too attached to him…

Needless to say, by the time Kallus was twenty-one and graduated from the military training program, he'd been a shoe-in and obvious candidate for the Imperial Security Bureau, who'd recruited him straight after graduation.

"Coriolan Kallus, you are hereby assigned the security code ISB-021 and will be referred to as such, or by Agent Kallus. Welcome, ISB-021. Do your duties with pride and loyalty."

Ezra sneered at the officer and glared at Kallus' back.

"Don't listen to stiff over there, Coriolan," she'd taken up saying his name. "You're much better off being who you were."

But she'd been saying that for 'years' now, and it wasn't going to change Kallus anytime soon. Besides, this was just a memory. Something she kept forgetting as she got heated up and angry over things.

The sweet child Kallus had been had long faded away and there wasn't a remnant left of that kid. Instead, Kallus had hardened into the familiar cold, strict, and impassive man she knew –minus the times he was with and hung around Jovan. But now he was out of the academy and in the quarters of the ISB, and that could only mean more and more time as this harsh man and the continuing chipping away of anything left of Coriolan.

Because Coriolan Kallus was becoming less of a person, and Agent Kallus was taking his place.

Ezra witnessed Kallus being thrust into the harsh life of an ISB Agent. Anything less seemed to equate to being a traitor or being on the road to one, so each agent had something of an obsessive show of loyalty ingrained in them quickly.

There are days where she would walk beside him in the building, and he'd stopped beside maybe an interrogation room or the time he'd stumbled onto the Re-Education division's location, and he would just stop and stare. He never had a visible look on his face (she admitted she was glad that he didn't, especially after witnessing with him the things he saw the Re-Education ISB Agents were up to), but when he went to his quarters, he would stand in front of the mirror and look hard at himself.

He wasn't as comfortable with things as it seemed, but he knew better (and she was damn glad he did) than to show any sort of weakness or troubled thoughts on his face, especially in front of any of the others.

The ISB Bureau was the _last_ place you ever wanted to reveal anything remotely close to disturbed thoughts about them and the Empire.

There were too many dark methods the agents ended up using, methods that Kallus was taught to learn and made to practice. Soon enough, he became coldly used to it, or else knew what the consequences were if he were to rebel in any sort of way, even if just vocally protesting how things were done. She watched the physical training Kallus went through, so much more vigorous and strenuous than even what the military training program put him through. She could see how it made him so efficient and dangerous in the future, her present.

Kallus was so dangerous in hand to hand and so proficient in fighting, that there was hardly anyone who could provide him a challenge. Ezra saw how he'd trained in riot control and heavy combat, and wondered how in the galaxy did she or any of the others ever managed to fight him (but did they ever really fight him? Confront him, hell yeah –but besides Zeb, who lost more often than not, they'd never really went toe to toe with Kallus).

It was disturbing when she watched the agents of the ISB sit and watch Imperial propaganda repeatedly; when they're eating in the cafeteria, any time their holoTVs were on, or when they have a specific training block for it. Ezra also knew that Kallus would repeat his father's lectures to himself sometimes, never forgetting what his father had drilled into his head all these years.

It was just continuously pounded into Kallus' head, and she suddenly understood (and maybe it's not so sudden) that it was not just easier being a mindless drone for the Empire, but you were practically brainwashed into it when you're surrounded by all sides with Imperial poodoo.

"Fuck the Man!" she shouted at him, face red. "The Man is keeping you down! Stick it to the Man, Kallus!"

Okay, so she was most probably wasting her breath, but what else was she going to do but to scream profanity at him?

She was incredibly frustrated at this point.

* * *

Ezra was a smart kid. Always had been. Kallus had noted it from the moment he'd met her back on _The Lawbringer_ , and from the first time he'd started watching over her as she was a child.

She used every single smarts she had as she survived the streets on her own, making sure to keep herself safe and sheltered as much as she could. It was dangerous in the streets, he could see that now more than ever. She'd barely escaped from the run-ins she'd had with the local Lothal gangs, and it was hard enough to find shelter for a night, much less food to keep herself from starving. None of the Imperials were any help, and Kallus saw and understood that she thought (and it seemed sadly true) that it was better to stay away from any Imperials.

They were much likely to rough her up as much as the local gang members would beat her.

"There," Kallus muttered. "That place will keep you warm tonight."

He was glad that Ezra managed to think like he did, and spotted the abandoned building that she broke into and snuck into to sleep in. It wasn't the best place to stay forever, since Stormtroopers tended to parole often in the area, but it was good enough a place to stay for the night and keep away from the elements and most of the ruffians prowling in the night.

Little Ezra tried her best to lie down on the hard ground, closing her eyes as she sniffled.

"Momma, Papa," she sniffled a little louder, curling in on herself.

"It'll get better," Kallus told her, knowing that wouldn't be soon. "There will be a man who will show you a better path in life and show you that you don't have to be alone."

She would just have an unfortunate long wait.

When the sunlight streamed in and awoke her in the morning, Kallus walked with her as she left the building to go find some food to fill her small stomach. It was already grumbling loudly and she still wasn't used to eating so little…not since she'd lived a life with her parents who had always taken care of her and never let her go starving.

"This is the time where you start to learn people don't help each other out, isn't it?" Kallus asked mutedly, starting to realize (and remember) how her attitude and words to him at their first meeting came to be.

No one was willing, or wanted, to help each other out, much less a little girl like Ezra.

He said nothing, not even to start to lecture when Ezra managed to sneak to the edge of the market and subtly steal a few meiloorun fruits from a vendor. She snuck off quickly with her loot and was going to start to bite into one when she was interrupted.

"Hey, brat! What are you milling around for?"

Kallus grimaced as he witnessed Ezra be caught by a sneering gang member, who watched her for a moment before chuckling darkly.

"Why don't you hand those over?" the gang member held out a hand.

Ezra clutched the fruit to her chest, baring her teeth at the man angrily in warning.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?!" the man growled and threw himself forward, intent on teaching Ezra a lesson.

Kallus' hand snapped out, trying to grab him and throw him back, only for his hand to pass through. Instead, it ended up staying in the air for a few moments as he resignedly watched Ezra get beaten up by the man, though she refused to let go of the fruit. By the time the man was done, she was black and blue, and curled into a fetal position on the floor…and yet still holding onto the fruit that she had wrapped her arms protectively and possessively over.

"Feh! Whatever, you little shit. It's just a few meilooruns. Choke on them, you bitch."

The man angrily walked away, and Ezra weakly laughed in victory to herself.

She cried to herself as she lifted one of the fruit to her lips and started to eat it, feeling so very hungry right then.

"You earned that," Kallus said fiercely. "You earned that fruit, so you enjoy it. Don't you ever back the damn hell down."

He'd cheer her on, because life was dealing her a crappy hand and she was going to do her best to lookout for number one, which is all Kallus cared about at that moment as he watched over her.

Even when he wanted to shoot and kill people like that gang member, and save her all the trouble.

That was why, when night came, he had been really hoping that she would go back to the building she'd found the night before. But as she came near, it was obvious that it wouldn't be possible because there was a quadruplet watch of Stormtroopers right next to it, and there was no way Ezra would be getting into that building without getting seen and caught.

She had to look around instead, hoping her luck would be good again and get her a place for the night. But again, the two of them realized she was on her own and no one would be extending any kindness.

"Hello, little one. You look in need of help."

"Speak of the kriffing devil," Kallus peered closely at who had spoken; an average height male with brown eyes and hair, and looked pretty young –maybe late teens, early twenties?

"I'm…" Ezra bit her lip. "I'm hungry and cold," she confessed reluctantly.

"You want food and shelter for the night, sweetie?" he asked kindly.

Kallus felt relieved, and Ezra was nodding enthusiastically. The man smiled widely and opened the door behind him, stepping aside to let her in. Ezra was eager to enter and Kallus was right behind her, only for them both to not expect it to slam close.

Kallus cursed and should have expected something was up, but he'd been so keen for her to be safe and find a place that he hadn't looked too deeply into things like he should've.

"Oh dear, didn't your parents teach you not to trust strangers?" the man grinned wickedly, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her off to another room. She was tossed into it, landing next to another person.

The door closed and as Ezra and Kallus looked around, it wasn't hard to see that this was some sort of place holding people against their will. Kallus, more knowingly, understood that it had all been a ruse to get Ezra sold into slavery, and she had to get out _now_.

"Where are those infamous escapee skills?" Kallus asked quietly, trying to get her to just _do_ something. He was feeling an urgency in this situation that told him that if she didn't do something soon, she would be too late.

He watched as she looked around (knowing she was the only one untied because she was thought to be harmless and just a kid), and though she spotted nothing to use as a weapon, she spotted a vent.

Kallus knew she was damn good at using and traversing those.

Without wasting any time, Ezra had managed to loosen the rusty bolts with her nails and tiny fingers, and had removed the vent before crawling into it and using her small size to move through the ventilator shafts and find her way out of there.

She escaped the building and ran the hell away from there, not daring to look back.

"Kriffing hell, you get into too many situations," Kallus muttered.

He should know; he'd been involved and the instigator of many of those.

* * *

"This isn't fair," Sabine grumbled, glaring at Kallus' figure. "And can't we just separate them at least?"

Kanan gave her a warning look. "We don't know too much of what's going on, Sabine. We just have to play it by ear and be careful of what we do with them."

"I don't know…Sabine might be right," Hera spoke up, frowning about the situation.

"Eh, well, he's knocked out," Zeb scratched his arm uncomfortably. "What could he do?"

Sabine made a disgruntled noise, tense and angrily hitting Kallus' arm. "This man is dangerous and shouldn't even be on our ship!"

"Sabine!" Hera gasped out, and they looked to her before following her gaze and becoming surprised and worried themselves.

A bruise began to show up and darken on Ezra's arm.

"Ah, hey…isn't that the same arm that you hit Kallus?" Zeb put things together.

Kanan cursed. "I think…I think if one is hurt, so will the other. Somehow the bond they forged with each other makes it so that if one or the other is harmed, then the other will also."

"Which means if we want Ezra to stay alive and healthy, we have to make sure Kallus is too," Hera concluded solemnly.

Kanan gazed at the two bodies worriedly. He had no idea what was going on or what to do, and he was worried that if he didn't find out soon, things might become too complicated for them to be able to fix it or turn it back to the way it was.

Started 3/28/16 – Completed 3/29/16


	4. Here For the Operation

Ezra didn't think she'd ever see such an open expression on Kallus' face, much less the extreme horror he had as his first unit he was assigned to was all but decimated by the Lasat mercenary. Kallus was left alive, left as a warning and to report back to his superiors…

But all Ezra could feel was the surge of hate, anger, and fear that wasn't her own.

"No, no, no," Ezra said frantically. This is what started and created Kallus' hostility towards the Lasat race and towards Zeb. "It's just him, Cor. Really! You can't think like this, you can't blame them all. Zeb –Zeb's awesome. He and I do the best pranks on the others. You can't…you can't…"

But she knew her pleas fell on deaf ears, as always.

However, a part of his anger and fear (though she steered clear of the hate) was shared by her, watching as this mercenary wiped out Kallus' unit. She admitted that even had she not met and watched over them by Kallus' side, just seeing and watching what had happened would have created those feelings. But having actually (maybe) gotten to know and like a little of Kallus' unit, she found herself upset at their deaths and feeling conflicted about this whole thing.

She also realized that her side could be just as ruthless and merciless as his side. Her side could be coldhearted and commit cruelties just as much as his side did.

Her side was capable of the same things his side was.

It made her uncomfortable to realize that. Maybe a part of her had always known that, but she didn't really think too hard about it. Or even didn't let herself.

She wanted her side to be the right side after all.

"I hate you!" she shouted at the Lasat's back, even though she wanted to stay away from anything relating to hate. "It's your fault!"

She blinked back angry tears, turning to a furious Kallus. She bit her lip before cautiously coming towards him and reaching out, surprised when her hand actually made contact. Even though he still couldn't feel her, her hand wasn't going through him and she didn't have to try so hard to keep her hand on him. Finding that out, she found herself throwing her body forward and wrapping herself around him, ignoring that just because she could touch him didn't mean anything in the long run.

It made her feel better though. And for now, that was all that mattered because she didn't know how much more she could take. She missed her crew and how light and happy they made things for her, after the period of darkness in her life after her parents had left her. She didn't want to drown in more darkness, even darkness that wasn't her own.

"I'll get you," Kallus growled. "I swear I'll get you back. All of you."

"Hello, darkness, my old friend," Ezra quoted an old song she used to hear her parents play sometimes. She closed her eyes tightly. "Oh, Cor…Don't blame them all, please…"

She was drowning in silence and darkness.

* * *

Kallus grew increasingly worried and upset the more days passed and Ezra went without food. She wasn't able to steal as easily as she needed to most days, what with security starting to tighten around the planet the more rebellion activity was beginning to act up. She was hungry and he could see that her stomach was starting to scream at her in pain.

"Just a little more," he murmured, holding onto her shoulder, having found he could do so by now. He didn't know why, but he wasn't going to question it too much at the moment. "Something will come up. You'll be fine."

She was getting desperate and he could understand. By then, a year had passed and she'd lived a hard life on the streets on her own.

"I'm so hungry," she whimpered, her hands moving to clutch her stomach.

"Just a little longer," Kallus reaffirmed, though he was more or less saying it for his own benefit. She couldn't hear him and even now he was having trouble remembering that.

Her eyes spotted them just as Kallus did, and he wanted to warn her away. However, seeing the look in her eyes, he could already tell what was going to happen.

"No," he immediately said, but she was already moving towards the group of gang members he wanted her to stay as far away from as possible. Especially as he remembered the last run in she had, all those years ago, with that sleemo that had tried to take her fruit from her. Still, Ezra approached the gang members hesitantly.

"What do you want, runt?" one of them asked, having finally caught on to her coming towards them.

She swallowed harshly. "I need money. Or food. I don't care. I'll do anything."

"Don't say that," Kallus snapped at her. "Who knows what their sick heads will come up with!"

"Yeah?" the same man asked with a menacing smile. "Just in time. Perfect actually. I got a job for you, kid. C'mere."

Ezra hesitated before making up her mind and coming closer. The man thrust out a package towards her.

"I want you to deliver this to a few guys from Scairt's gang. They're in the south end of the Capital, 'round the factories. You do that, you'll get a feast, kid. Alright?"

Hungry and thinking nothing but of her stomach, Ezra nodded eagerly and gave her agreement. Kallus was extremely unhappy and wary about all this.

"You've got an hour, you hear?" the man told her strictly. "And I mean _an hour_."

Though Ezra was becoming hesitant again, she nodded and set off to do as was tasked of her.

"Careful," Kallus tried warning her. "You don't know what's in the package, or what they want with these other gang members. You don't really know much about the situation at all. This isn't a good idea."

But she was steadfastly walking on, so he sighed and walked by her side. By the time they reached who that man was talking about, nearly an hour had passed.

"Um," Ezra said quietly. "Are you…are you from Scairt's gang?"

A much scarier looking man approached her from a group of his own. "Yeah? Wha'cha want, kid?"

"I'm supposed to deliver this to you in an hour. They told me to give it to some guys in Scairt's gang in this direction," Ezra nervously explained. "H-here?"

The man took it from her, narrowing his eyes at it. He shook it a little bit and then held it to his ear. After a minute of examining it, he opened it and then snarled as he saw what was inside. When he pulled out a decapitated head, Ezra screamed and her hands flew up to her mouth, the urge to vomit obviously prominent. Kallus could tell from her face, much less how the accompanying nauseous feeling from her hit him subtly.

"You!" the man yelled, glaring at her as the men behind him started to move closer to her. "You part of Maw's gang?"

"No, no!" Ezra screamed. "I don't know anything about this! I don't know anything!"

"Run!" Kallus shouted at her. "Get out of there!" But his frustration at these things came back and she wasn't heeding him.

By the time she got the sense to get out of there, she was only turning in place when the man grabbed her and then shoved something into her side. She screamed loudly and Kallus growled, stalking forward to try to do something, even though he knew he couldn't.

The man yanked out what Kallus saw was a knife and then dropped Ezra to the ground, where she lay curled on her side and was bleeding out. Just when the man reached down, probably to finish the job, Ezra leaped to her feet and ran, using the adrenaline fueling her to pump her legs faster and get out of there, and ignoring the loud blast behind her that she'd just missed. She ran and ran, even going out of the city and plowing through the wheat fields surrounding it. Ultimately, she came near a tower that Kallus recognized as one that was supposed to be defunct.

Though the adrenaline was draining out of her, she haphazardly but determinedly made her way up the tower and collapsed inside of it. The abandoned communications tower was safe. For now, she was okay. Then again…it didn't really matter.

"I'm going to die," she slurred out, crying alone on the floor of the tower.

"You aren't. You live." He knew so, having met her later on. Still, knowing that didn't help how he felt at the moment and how worried he was at her state. How in the galaxy _did_ she survive? Looking at her now, she was definitely bleeding out and had lost a lot of blood. Too much blood.

He watched quietly as she lay there even more quietly than he, up until she passed out. Then, miraculously, there was a glow around her side and he watched in amazement as her wound began to close and heal up.

"Is this…is this the work of the Force?" he asked himself. What sorcery…

But, "At least you're okay now."

He could breathe a little bit easier while he waited for the next mishap she got herself into.

* * *

"Kamino?"

Both Ezra and Kallus had echoed reactions to that. She remembered Ahsoka and Rex talking about Kamino and how much of a role the planet and its inhabitants had in the CloneWars, and eventually in creating the Empire with the clones.

"You are assigned to help put down the uprising that the Kaminoans had created there, along with some of the clones. You yourself will be equipped with half a dozen units of loyal Empiric clone troopers, while working with a new unit of Stormtroopers to work under you."

Ezra felt it was too soon since his last unit and what happened to them. In fact, she didn't like how this new assignment sounded at all either. But it wasn't like he could decline it. She knew that. Damn it, _she knew that_. It just wasn't fair.

It wasn't too long until they were shipping out and Ezra could feel it, even if Kallus wasn't showing it. He was worried and feeling conflicted about this.

But he was a good and loyal officer, so he was going to keep his mouth shut and do as he was told.

She was horrified to watch how much of a mess the mission really was. There were clones _everywhere_. His clones, the Kaminoan's clones. It was just a mess.

Sweat poured down his temples and dripped down his face, and she could see the wild panic in his eyes as he shot at the enemy…at who he thought was the enemy. It was so hard to tell, when the clones all looked alike, and not even the armor could differ them –especially when they were wearing armor and their faces were shown and they all looked the frakking same –

At a corner, Kallus plastered himself against a wall and tried catching his breath, blinking sweat out of his eyes.

"Oh God, Gods –someone. Someone help me," he gasped out, and he let his blaster hang around him as he let go of it and pressed his gloved palms against his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

She'd never seen this side of him. But this _was_ horrible. He didn't know who was on his side, or who was the enemy. He knew there was too many friendly fire going on, and he was starting to lose his mind over this.

She wished she could help, but she wasn't sure if she'd know what to do in this situation. She didn't know if anyone would.

Kallus cursed to himself before he threw himself back in the fray, and began blasting out in abandon, forsaking trying to differentiate and just trying to stay alive.

That was all the real option left.

In the end, when it was all over, Kallus was praised and commended in his role in the Kaminoan Uprising. But it belied the fact that underneath his stoic demeanor, he didn't feel it had gone too well at all and he was discontent about the whole thing. But he hid it well, and no one knew except himself.

And Ezra, who felt every bit of his discontent.

* * *

Kallus was relieved that Ezra ended up okay. She was still hungry though, and that left Kallus worried about what else she was willing to try to do for just a bit of food. She left the tower unhappily, though he could see that she kept glancing back at it curiously, thinking about making the place home.

He was well aware in the future that it had become her home before she stayed with the crew, so this was probably how she'd stumbled upon it. Curiously and humorously, Ezra didn't question her lack of wound or that she was now okay, but he suppose the hunger was still ruling over her head and wouldn't let go of her focus until she was no longer starving.

He watched her eye a mark, probably intending to try to rob whoever it was. A few Imperial credits would do her good, help survive another day or two…as much as he hated thievery (and the fact she had to resort to it often…everyday), he hoped for her success and that maybe she would finally get something in her stomach. However, just as she was going to approach the person, a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

Both he and Ezra faced the newcomer warily, finding that it was a Xexto.

"You're way too obvious and will end up caught before you even try it," he said in amusement. "You're better off pickpocketing when you're relaxed and not looking like you're about to pounce on a piece of meat."

Ezra frowned, jerking away from the Xexto, but not running away like Kallus was tempted to tell her.

"Ferpil Wallaway's the name," he grinned widely. "You want to learn how to really pickpocket?"

Interested, though still wary, Ezra nodded.

"Great! Let me show you how it's done, kiddo."

Amazingly enough, Kallus had a feeling this guy really meant to help her (even in this roundabout way) and that maybe Ezra could trust him.

* * *

"Where do we go?" Hera asked tiredly.

"What do we _do_?" Sabine glanced at the comatose figures, particular the one who was causing this problem and was lying peacefully next to Sabine's best friend.

"We're stuck with him," Kanan said with shrug. "We can't exactly leave him behind or do anything with the man. Not if we want to make sure Ezra's okay and won't be in trouble because we did something with him."

"Don't be all…worried and stuff," Zeb gruffly cut in. He inwardly balked at the attention that brought him. "Look, uh, he's not that bad. Kallus. Yeah, him."

Sabine looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Do you not remember that this is the guy that practically slaughtered your race?"

Zeb gave an aggravated sigh. "Yeah, I know! Karabast, I'm not stupid or forgetful, you know!" he glowered at her. "And I'm saying he's not all bad!"

Seeing the skeptical but wondering faces from everyone, he shrugged irritably. "Look, you guys remember the time I was stranded on that Geonosis moon? Yeah, this is how it went…"

Zeb knew it was going to be a really long night. _Karabast_.

Started 4/4/16 – Completed 4/4/16


	5. Can't Pack Emotion

Wallaway turned out to be a good man after all. Maybe not scrupulous, but he –out of all the people on Lothal –deigned to stop and help a little girl out, and even take her under his wing.

The Xexto owned a pawnshop that he ran by himself. He took in various stuff, and didn't cheat people out of their money. He did, however, tend to pickpocket many a times, and taught the skill much more effectively to a young Ezra. She was a quick study, which pleased and amused Wallaway immensely.

Kallus also noted that Wallaway had a lot of underground connections, people he didn't let near or see Ezra (and oppositely let her see them, when he could).

Ezra's parents had left her when she was seven, and a year had passed since then with her turning eight, and during that time meeting this Wallaway character. Since then, the two were as thick as thieves, with Wallaway teaching her whatever he could of the trade, and even having her scan wealthy-looking tourists and trick them into selling their own belongings. The two would even pick each other for fun, which exasperated Kallus. Still, it was better than the way it had been before, and she was steadily finding a more stable life and livelihood, even with this scoundrel.

Ezra would also start stealing helmets (what was with this girl and Stormtrooper helmets? Or Imperial helmets, he meant, given how he remembered she'd wanted his too that one time…). She mostly sold them on the black market, along with other stuff she found or stole.

Kallus was even more relieved that Ezra, in this time, managed to find and make a friend out of a fellow girl named Moreena Krai, who knew about Ezra' s more underhanded skills. She was a good influence, he thought, especially since she was someone Ezra could find to be girly with and do girly stuff with too.

The only problems he found through the years were the more frequent occurring of Ezra's Force abilities. Though Ezra never understood or paid too much attention to what happened each time, it was quite obvious the Force was involved. He didn't want her to be found out, even if he knew that hadn't happened until he came onto the planet and met her.

But right now, he was just watching a ten year old Ezra selling stupid tickets to a stupid event.

"This? This I would have arrested you for," he told her irritably, crossing his arms across his chest in exasperation. "But I suppose you had to learn your criminal leanings somewhere," he almost huffed.

Still, maybe he would have or wouldn't have arrested her. She was a ten year old kid. Even he wasn't sure what he would have done, even though he knew he had been (still was) a pretty strict, to-the-letter-of-the-law kind of guy. He might have let her off with a warning, or really did take her into jail to scare her and make sure she wouldn't do something like it again.

His attention was caught by that Moreena kid appearing and coming closer to Ezra, wearing a shy smile of sorts.

"Hi, Ezra," she greeted the other girl.

Ezra beamed back. "Hi, Reena! What's up?"

Here, the girl's shy smile faltered and she looked sad instead. "Um, my family is going to move to Alderaan to be with my grandmother. We just…can't stay here anymore. Not with how the Empire is here."

Ezra looked startled and he was sure she was going to be upset, but instead she maintained a smile for her friend.

"That's great! You take care and stay safe, huh?"

Moreena smiled again and hugged Ezra tightly, though Kallus could now see that Ezra looked just as sad now. However, just as they pulled away from each other, Ezra's face was back to being cheery.

"I'm going to miss you," Moreena told her sincerely, and then she was leaving Ezra with a teary look.

"Me too," Ezra murmured, watching her go.

"She was a good friend," Kallus did his best to comfort her. "But you'll find ones that'll stick to you for a long time soon."

He thought of her crew and wondered where they are or what they were doing. Did they know where Ezra and he were? Did they know what was wrong? More importantly, was he and Ezra actually together somewhere, or had they been separated and found by their respective alliances? Worse, by the _other's_ alliance?

"Crud, I don't really want to do this now," he heard Ezra mutter, and she shuffled around for a few more minutes and managed to sell a few more tickets before she decided to leave.

By then, she'd gone walking along the spaceport before she'd ended up running into some other situation. This time, she found herself in front of a ship called the _Hound's Tooth_ and a Trandoshan was leaning against the front.

"Hey, you girl! Are you a local?"

Kallus frowned. "Ugh, please don't answer him," he spoke to Ezra wryly, knowing already what she was going to do.

"Yeah?" Ezra confirmed warily, which he could see had slowly been forming over the years. It partly made him glad that she was gaining those instincts and learning self-preservation predispositions. On the other hand, he knew that this was when she started to stop trusting people so much.

"I need a guide to Ake's Tavern," he said gruffly. "I'll pay you well if you can take me there."

Though Ezra was seriously contemplating it, Kallus was pinching the bridge of his nose. He wanted to shout at her to walk away, to ignore this Trandoshan.

"Okay," Ezra agreed hesitantly, which he commended but would rather she not have accepted at all. Honestly, Kallus had a feeling this was going to go all wrong.

And he was right as nearly an hour later, Ezra found herself caught up in the bounty hunter's (why a kriffing bounty hunter?!) problems, having become a lure for his prey, involved in a shootout and a set up by one of Kallus' own (he vaguely remembered hearing and reading about ISB Lieutenant Jenkes' problems on this planet when he was preparing for his own adjourn to Lothal), and brought Bossk to her new tower home and bandaged up the Trandoshan's wounds.

They ended up searching up Herdringer, who Bossk had thought to be behind everything, and found out about Jenkes instead –which lead to Kallus' fellow ISB Agent being alerted and finding them, and forcing them to run to Wallaway's pawn shop.

Which led to the now, with a bloodied and dying Wallaway in a crying Ezra's arms, after the Xexto had been confronted by Jenkes and then shot and robbed by the man.

It made Kallus bristle a bit, because Wallaway had been the only person to help and take care of Ezra in these hard years, and now he was leaving her behind. And to add insult, Jenkes had stolen money from the dying Wallaway, proving himself not better than the scum he was supposed to put in line and a thief.

"I'm sorry," Wallaway gasped out while Bossk silently and solemnly kept his distance. "Take care of yourself, kid…Don't…don't let anyone, especially the Empire…get you down…"

Ezra tried to answer, but Wallaway died before she could. She cried a minute longer, before wiping her face and then turning to Bossk determinedly.

"What do you need me to do?"

Bossk stepped forward. "We need to do something about Jenkes –and don't worry, kid. I still owe you my strongbox."

And though, in the end, they managed to outsmart Jenkes and get him out of their hair, Ezra was left with just seventy five credits and alone once again.

* * *

Ezra didn't need to see to know that Kallus was having a horrible time coping after the Kaminoan Uprising. Like he usually does, he was attempting to squash whatever feelings and emotions he had about the whole thing. By day, he was perfectly fine, acting acceptably and as the part of the good little soldier he was supposed to be. But no one but her knows that at night, he's a complete mess and he has frequent night terrors. She may not be an expert, but she thought he was probably suffering from post-traumatic stress.

"No…no," she heard Kallus muttering, starting to toss and turn under his sheets. "Please…"

Ezra bit her lip and swayed in place, not sure what to do. It wasn't like she really could do anything, which bothered her a lot. She didn't hesitate at the fact that it was Kallus. She just wanted him to stop being so miserable and having restless nights.

Did he still have restless nights, even now to this day?

She didn't want to think about that. How maybe while she and her crew were running along, the thought of him like this made her feel uncomfortable and even sad.

"I didn't…want…"

Ezra reached out and touched his shoulder and he stilled to her surprise. And then, all of a sudden, he shot up in bed and was gasping out heavily, eyes wide as sweat gathered at the sides of his face. For a moment, he even seemed stuck in whatever he'd been dreaming of, not taking in his surroundings and looking too alert and muttering to himself. Then he blinked his way into awareness, slowly calming down. He stumbled out of bed and she stayed there, holding onto herself.

It wasn't long until he tiredly made his way back to bed, lying on his back and trying to regulate his breathing. She debated with herself before she climbed onto the bed and went to his other side, reaching out again and touching his arm.

"Don't dream," she said softly. "I don't want you to have any more bad dreams."

Thankfully, he went to sleep quickly and didn't have any more dreams that night.

* * *

Kallus wearily kept by Ezra's side. Three more years seemed to have passed and Ezra was now a thirteen year old girl, who kept to herself and didn't get attached to anyone. She'd learned her lesson about that and wasn't about to get hurt again.

She mostly used her skills to pickpocket and outright steal, mostly from the Empire. She had definitely gotten good at it…It's just –it wasn't enough sometimes. Once again, Ezra was beginning to feel the hunger and she was close to starving. It wasn't like last time, right before she'd met Wallaway. It was worse and he could see her getting desperate and looking ready to collapse at any moment. He didn't know what would help her now. The crew of the Ghost wouldn't meet her until around a year.

The rain poured down on Ezra, her hair and clothes clinging to her as she got soaked and felt the chill down to her bones. She walked like the dead down the street, if the dead could walk. Finding an empty space under a building, to which she could sit against the wall and find cover under the overhead, Ezra went to it and sat on her bottom achingly. She took a deep breath and curled in on herself.

Kallus didn't hesitate to sit next to her, his longer limbs and bigger body making it slightly awkward to sit in a similar position. Though she wouldn't feel him, he comfortingly laid his hand on her head.

"Please, something come up," he murmured, bronze eyes scanning around him.

He noticed the odd amount of people that were standing around the street, frowning to himself about it. However, his thoughts halted when a speeder moved to a stop in front of Ezra, and a man in nice, expensive clothing got out with an umbrella. He took a couple of steps towards her and Kallus tensed as he watched this newcomer, who tilted his head.

Crimson hair that fell around his face and blue eyes that was watching Ezra closely, Kallus immediately decided he didn't like this man or wanted him near Ezra.

"How much?" the man asked quietly, which made Kallus balk and stand up in indignation.

"You –!"

"Food," she muttered. "Food and…shelter for the night."

Kallus whipped his head towards the desperate girl slouching against the hard wall.

"Fine."

And the man held out his hand and Ezra hesitated only a moment before reaching out and taking it.

"Don't you dare!" Kallus shouted, not sure if he was talking to her, the man, or both. But as always, his presence negated nothing and he had to follow them back into the speeder and to the man's home, which was despicably opulent and large.

Ezra was given a full meal, fresh and hot, and even got dessert out it. While he was glad she'd gotten fed, he wasn't able to rid himself of the anger and the despair that filled him at what he knew was to come. And once she'd gotten the last bite, the red head appeared by her side and "gentlemanly" held out his arm, to which she took tentatively before he led her to the stairs and presumably up to his room. Kallus was tempted to just stay there, but he hadn't left her side before, so he wouldn't now. He forced his feet to follow and it wasn't long until the three of them were in a lavish room.

And Kallus looked away, turning his face when that man gently took hold of Ezra's shoulders, before sliding them down and then went to undress her.

"I'll find you," Kallus swore. "I'll find out who you are and I'll get you for this."

He refused to let this go unpunished, no matter how long it had been since.

* * *

"Oh no!" Hera brought their attention to her, and they followed her voice to the infirmary.

"What is it?" Sabine asked, trying to downplay her agitation. She tried to avoid looking at Zeb, still not sure how to take his story about being stranded with Agent Kallus.

"They both have really high fevers," the Twi'lek grimaced. "I don't know what happened or why it's happening."

Kanan started to worry, glancing to where his Padawan was and then to where they had separated Kallus all the way to the back of the infirmary just in case.

"I don't understand. They were just fine not too long ago," he said in frustration.

"Maybe if we put them together and see if we can find some comparisons," Sabine suggested, and Kanan and Zeb went to Kallus' side and moved him over to Ezra's.

"He's burning up alright," Zeb noted before blinking as he felt Kallus nearly instantly cool down. Then he looked to see Ezra there and glanced at Kanan, who got the same idea.

They moved Kallus farther away again, before feeling him quickly start to heat up and then the two men groaned.

"What?" Hera asked them strangely.

"They must be getting fevers because they're far apart from each other," Kanan grumbled.

"But they're not that far apart!" Sabine gaped. "And come on! I mean, I know they start getting antsy and uncomfortable moving away from each other, but they're close enough!"

"Not close enough anymore, it seems," Kanan grumbled, unhappily setting the man up next to Ezra again. Then, still feeling them warm (if not burning hot anymore), Kanan threw up his hands.

"Oh for Force's sakes!" He and Zeb maneuvered things around and put down railings in the middle, before shoving the two medical beds together to sort of form one and locking them together.

"This," Kanan glared at the unconscious Kallus. "This is a temporary thing. And don't get used to it!"

Sabine coughed. "Overprotective dad," she muttered, earning herself a glare from him.

"So before they were just feeling uncomfortable and pretty much prickly if they were apart, and only got fevers when they were really far away from each other and after a while," Hera frowned. "Now it's gone to them gaining really dangerous fevers if they're far apart at all and in practically no time. And the closer they are, the fever goes down and will finally go away."

"It's not going to be long until they're practically on top of each other," Zeb couldn't help joking, chuckling at that.

He awkwardly cleared his throat as all three of the others, especially Kanan, tossed him glares.

"Looks like he's stuck next to Ezra for now, and we can't do anything about it," Hera resignedly said.

"I hope we can find a solution soon," Kanan grumbled.

And he meant that too.

Started 4/10/16 – Completed 4/10/16


	6. We're Killing Strangers

Ezra's hand automatically grabbed onto Kallus' shoulder the moment he reported to his superiors and was assigned his next mission.

He was going to Lasan.

She knew what was going to happen, what mission this was. And she was also seeing that, despite how calm Kallus looked outside, she knew better. No matter how normal he looked, she could actually feel his uneasiness.

"I understand," Kallus stoically replied. "When will I be deployed?"

"You will be deployed immediately. You will be the commanding officer in charge of the Pacification of Lasan, and lead the units of Stormtroopers into battle against the Lasat species. Success is not questioned. Subdue them at all costs. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"You'll win," Ezra said quietly as he walked passed her and out of the room. "You'll win, but it won't be pretty."

And she knew that this was going to be a war that neither side will be happy to be in. She could already see Kallus' steps become heavy and his gait reluctant once he was alone, and there was just a minute slouch in his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered because she knew that somehow, even if not for his side but just him, things were going to go wrong. So many on either side was going to be affected.

She went with him as he got ready, putting on another uniform and slipping on his helmet, grabbing standard issue blaster rifle and pistols and strapping them on. If he didn't look at himself, she knew why and understood. He went to meet his men and soon enough they were on their way to Lasan.

Ezra was horrified at how it had gone from the moment they landed. The first day had been a _mess_.

Kallus' ship had been shot down, though he and his men in it survived. The Lasat people had been prepared and were giving as good as they got. Kallus, unsurprisingly, was a well-oiled, well-trained machine that made it harder for the Empire to be brought down by the renegade race. It wasn't so incredulous to think now that he was one of the singular Imperial soldiers instrumental in helping to mow down the Lasat species. It was amazing in a horrifying way to watch him work.

But then there was Kallus at night, and there was nothing either of them could say about it.

She's with him as he soldiers on through the battlefield, but she's also with him at night as he lay in bed and stares blankly up at his ceiling. It wasn't long until he started to stop going to bed and keep on through the battle, allowing his men to take their quick sleep while he preferred to stay up and keep watch.

Insomnia becomes a quick friend, Ezra noted, and Kallus doesn't rest until he's practically exhausted and passes out. He can't rest otherwise.

"There's only so many times you can clean your blaster rifle," she told him on the fourth night there, when he was sitting on a seat outside his company's camp and going over it again and again. "You need to sleep," Ezra pleaded, but he instead took a rag and went over the rifle again.

"Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my Empire, we are the masters of our enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace," Kallus muttered under his breath, a mantra Ezra had unwillingly learned alongside him back in the program.

"That's Imperial poodoo for you," she glowered at him, sitting down by his feet while he meticulously cleaned his blaster rifle. "You need to stop looking to them. They're all crud!"

Kallus actually sighed aloud, slumping his shoulders as he held onto his rifle tightly and tried to block out his surroundings.

"I wish I could have met you sooner," Ezra said despondently. "I wish I could have met you when you were a child, and you would have had at least one friend to look to and not cling and listen to your father. He was a lousy guy."

She wished she could just yank that blaster rifle away from him, force him to listen to her. But that wasn't happening anytime soon, especially since this was only the past. Yet no matter how many times she acknowledged that, there was a part of her that wanted something to change –that her presence there actually meant something would become different. But she knew that she was only there to view his memories, and she had a sneaking suspicion (one that grew with every passing moment) that he was probably watching her own memories.

It horrified her because there were things in her past she wasn't proud of and didn't want anyone to ever find out about, much less Kallus.

And if he found out what she was willing to resort to to survive on the streets…

"Don't you judge me," she spat at the weary figure of Kallus, going at his rifle again, though at least he wasn't muttering that stupid Empirical rifle creed. "You don't know what it means to be hungry, to just starve and feel like your stomach is tearing itself apart. Don't you _dare_ judge me."

She never told anyone anything because she _refused_ to be judged.

That and she was ashamed of it.

* * *

Kallus had never actually _hated_ anyone. Well, that's not true. There was that bastard Lasat mercenary…But never mind that. No, aside from him, he's never hated anyone. Nothing had ever been really personal, in a way, to him.

The men Ezra ran into through the time after the first man made Kallus want to beat them all into submission, make them plead for mercy and force them to face Ezra and apologize for their transgressions against her. Alas, he was just viewing memories and he was getting increasingly angry (and more frequently at that) the more he watched.

He took note of each one of them, remembered what they looked like, what their homes looked like (they strangely never took Ezra to a hotel, but to their homes), and if he could get their names, he never forgot them.

He wouldn't let any of them off the hook. Not if he could help it. Just thinking about them put him into a murderous rage.

"You know, it's incredibly ironic that the only person willing to help you out without any real ulterior motive was a criminal-type like Wallaway," Kallus spat out at Ezra, who was sitting still as some random man was brushing her hair. For the most part, Kallus had been trying to ignore him. "And then we have your fellow criminal rebel friends adding and exacerbating that fact –will you just stop brushing her hair?!" he finally snapped at the man.

He was ignored, but that was nothing new.

"You have some kind of stupid hair fetish or something?" Kallus glared at the distracted man, wanting to reach over and wrap his hands around his neck.

"You have such beautiful hair," the man said instead to her and she made a noncommittal sound, steadfastly focusing on the array of fruits she was snacking on, including the meiloorun she had so much trouble with before.

She did have nice hair, Kallus reluctantly admitted. It was strangely well taken cared of, especially since Ezra had been mostly living on her own and on the streets for so long, as well as a strange natural blue tint to its darkness. She did have that abandoned tower though, and it wasn't as broken down as he thought. It had some working utilities left in it, and anything else Ezra was actually pretty good at fixing up.

"Your hair is nice," he complimented her aloud, because even if she couldn't hear it, he felt it was better coming out of him than this man next to her.

He could only be glad that she didn't do this often because she kept to stealing for the most part. But when security was too tight and she couldn't risk it, these are the times that Kallus dreaded seeing.

"You deserve better than this," he growled lowly, wanting nothing more than to stop watching.

To be honest, he just wanted to get out of there and confront her. He had to get all this off of his chest, and the more he watched, the more he was piling on stuff and needing to let it out. Her memories were horrible –

A thought caught on for him. If he was viewing her memories, was she viewing his? A pit grew in his stomach at the thought of that. He wasn't a saint, he knew that. He recalled all the things he'd done in his life too easily, and it wasn't something he cared for anyone else to see much less experience with him.

He had a lot of blood on his hands, and he's made one too many hard choices in life.

If she saw his life, he didn't want her coming out the same as he did. It was too much of a damn shame, especially since she was cynical enough on her own and had her own experiences and didn't need his to add to them.

* * *

"Kanan?"

Kanan heard Hera bright and clear, but didn't face her as he morosely thumbed through the little he had taken from his old Jedi life.

"Kanan," she put her hand on his shoulder and he reluctantly looked at her. "I need to talk to you about something."

"More news?" he asked miserably. "I don't think I can take anymore right now."

"I know," she said softly, taking a seat by him on their shared bed. "But…Kanan, you've got to know. Ahsoka just contacted us…and she wants to talk to Ezra."

"What? Why?" Kanan straightened up in panic, much more alert. "We can't let her know what happened."

Hera frowned. "It could be for the best."

"Absolutely not. She wouldn't be happy with this development, especially that we brought an ISB Agent with us. And not just any agent, but Kallus at that."

Hera was just as unhappy and nervous as Kanan about Ahsoka contacting them and wanting to talk to Ezra, more so since it was such a bad time, but she also was sure that maybe it would be a good idea to let the other woman know about what was happening. But looking at Kanan now, and the stubborn look on his face, she highly doubted he was going to change his mind any time soon.

"Alright," she said. "We'll keep it…to ourselves."

She still wasn't sure about that.

* * *

At the moment, Kallus was following Ezra as she headed back to her home. Sounds of an air fight reached them, and they looked to the sky to see the familiar freight ship of the Ghost crew engaging in combat against a TIE Fighter.

Kallus frowned to himself, wondering when this was and if this was when they'd met.

Just then, a lucky shot got the TIE Fighter and it went down, crashing somewhere in the fields nearby. He watched as Ezra looked in its direction inscrutably, and he wasn't sure what she was thinking. For once, it was Imperial so he didn't think she would care or bother going over (he was also sure that at this point, she might not be so quick to look even if it wasn't an Imperial). However, she started in its direction, catching Kallus off guard. He was also not sure he wanted her to go over anyway –there was no guarantee whoever it was would be kind to Ezra or take kindly to her coming over.

Ezra found the smoking TIE Fighter and hesitantly came over. She climbed up onto it and pried it opened, revealing who Kallus recognized as Baron Valen Rudor, who was coughing and trying to get out of his seat.

"Need help?" Ezra called down cheerfully.

"You! Get off right now! Do you know what you're on? This is property of the Empire!" Rudor yelled up at her.

Kallus, by now, knew her enough to notice the minute twitch of her eyebrow and her grin, signaling her irritation. He himself was rather put out by Rudor's attitude, and was almost tempted to try to persuade Ezra to just walk away and leave the pilot to his own mess.

Instead, Ezra huffed and rolled her eyes, dropping down into the TIE Fighter and easily fending off Rudor's hands as she "helped" him get unstuck from his chair. Kallus did notice that she was just as easily removing equipment from him too (things to probably sell on the black market). Then Ezra snickered and jumped up and got out of there, escaping from the TIE Fighter.

"See ya! Thanks for the stuff!" Ezra waved, holding onto Rudor's helmet.

Kallus actually let himself laugh at that, only until he saw Rudor angrily aiming to shoot at Ezra, to which his expression darkened and he called to her while attempting to get into the TIE Fighter and stop him. Well, he did managed to get in, just that he had no power whatsoever over the memory, like he should have remembered. Ezra took care of it herself though, somehow knowing what was happening and avoiding the shot, and returning fire with her little electric slingshot. It knocked out Rudor, which left Ezra to laugh in triumph. She mock-saluted the pilot's unconscious figure and then marched off.

It wasn't even too long after that that found her getting into more trouble. In fact, two days later Ezra was on a speeder in Capital City and finally ran into the Ghost crew as they were attempting to steal some crates from Imperial officers. Kallus reluctantly felt his lips tug into a grin. This was close to when she met him as well.

Curiously, Kallus finally watched Ezra's first meeting with them, almost wanting to laugh gleefully at the fact that _she_ managed to steal the crates from _them_. They really hadn't been working together at the time of his meeting with her.

She was almost successful in getting away too, which was impressive considering she was dealing with both the Jedi, the Mandolorian girl, and the Lasat chasing her _and_ Stormtroopers. But by the time she was in the fields, she had no choice but to get into the Ghost ship, and did so with a rather extraordinary jump while still holding onto the crate.

Honestly, he was just glad that Ezra finally met them and now she had people that had her back.

Started 4/13/16 – Completed 4/15/16


	7. Don't Need a Bigger Knife

He was completely losing it at this point.

Ezra was beyond worried for Kallus and his mental state. He wouldn't sleep. He refused to. He was in a constant state of awareness, almost paranoid at times. He had insomnia, could barely make himself eat, his eyes were bloodshot, and his body seemed to almost vibrate in adrenaline and shifted sometimes in jerky movements.

Days on end on Lasan has him on edge, and she was worried he was going to crack at any moment –if he hadn't already. More blood is spilled on his hands; the Lasats' and his subordinates'. And each time, he was becoming more and more unhinged, and she didn't think that he would be able to come back from this if he had to deal with even more death at his hands.

Maybe he didn't and that was why he was the way he was against her and the crew of the Ghost.

From his father to Kamino to Lasan, she had a better understanding of the man that was Agent Coriolan Kallus. She knew what made him tick, what had shaped him, and that it had all molded into the heartless agent he had become in the end. She couldn't help pitying him because she found and believed he could've become someone else had things been different.

But then maybe these experiences were all inevitable and he was always going to become this person.

It wasn't like he chose who his father was. It wasn't like he could choose his missions. It wasn't like he could have chosen all of this.

And even if she had met him before, would she really have been enough to save him from this darkness?

She began doubting that, especially as she watched his life and how blood and death and _darkness_ made up it. There didn't seem a ray of hope in his life, and even if she had been in it, it would've been her against practically the rest of the galaxy and the Empire.

Ezra sighed as she watched Kallus eat the watered down oats, not even tasting it as he robotically ate. The small break he was having was a welcome pause for Ezra, who wished he'd take more breaks and get some rest.

He was eating somewhere quiet and alone, about ready to rendezvous with others and attack the Honor Guard of Lasan, who were stationed around a temple. The quick break he was having was to recharge himself as much as he could before he went on to help the others take on the Honor Guard.

"Take some more time," Ezra bit her lip, sitting next to him and trying to will him to just stay put. She didn't want him to go. _Especially_ in his state –she was worried he'd collapse or get hurt really bad.

To her surprise, Kallus burst out into hysterical sobs, clutching at his hair and spilling what was left of his watered oats to the ground. Caught off guard, Ezra only managed to throw her arms around him instinctively, hearing his sobs closer up and feeling his body shaking.

Rex had told her once, very grimly, that _"War is hell."_ She didn't disbelieve him then, but now she could understand it more and feel dread at the fact that war was coming for them all soon enough, and it would be waiting for her when she woke up from whatever limbo this was.

So she held onto him tightly, even after he'd collected himself, fixed his face into a stoic look, and made sure his armor and weapons were strapped on securely before he headed out. And once he reached the temple, Ezra only let go once he threw himself into the fighting, singularly fighting through the Honor Guard himself and getting them to a weaker position enough for one of his men to take over and finish the fight as he continued on and went to one who was waiting for him near the top of the temple.

"I am the best of the Guard," he announced to Kallus, staring him down solemnly. "There is only one better than me. The Captain. He is not here, but your fight will be with me and I shall take you on."

"Then come," Kallus barked out, shifting into position with his baton and throwing down his blaster rifle. He surprised Ezra when he got rid of his pistols too, but she could feel an impression of his thoughts, which have been growing steadily louder the more she watched his memories.

' _Speed…I have to be lighter and faster. And focus. Can't let him get the better of me…'_

It was strange having his thoughts in her head. Usually she just got his feelings and an instinctive understanding of his thoughts on a certain situation and memory…but never something as clear as this.

' _I need to…Go!'_

And Kallus sped off, ducking the Lasat's bo-rifle and thrusting his baton out. It hit the other's shoulder, eliciting a pained shout. For a few minutes, Ezra watched the two parry and trade blows, sometimes missing, sometimes landing a hit.

Then Ezra realized that this was Kallus' signature weapon in the future. Not yet modified, but the very one that he would use to attack them all with. This is when and where he would gain it.

So she wasn't surprised when Kallus struck down the Lasat. She was just surprised that Kallus didn't immediately finish him off.

"You're dying," Kallus said quietly. "There is no need for me to kill you."

The Lasat warrior laughed, shaking his head. "You are…a superior opponent. Take this –claim and use it as your own," he held up the bo-rifle that was a staple of the Lasat Honor Guard.

Kallus was taken aback, hesitantly reaching out and grabbing it. Before he could question the Lasat, he died at last and Kallus was left there with his new weapon.

Ezra was just speechless. As far as they had all known, Kallus had just taken that weapon and claimed it as his own. He'd said so himself.

Why had he said that, when clearly it had been gifted to him?

* * *

They reached Tarkintown, where Kallus could see Ezra evaluating the crew. She seemed and looked cheery and playful, but he had been with her now for so long that he could read her so easily. She was wary and untrusting of these group of people, but she was also incredulous to see them helping the people of Tarkintown out with the crates that had been stolen. The weapons had been delivered to Vizago, but the other crates filled with food was passed out.

Ezra helped, but she was also silently observing and assessing these new threats that had barged into her life. She wasn't so convinced of their kindness and generosity, especially that it was so free. There had to be a motive. At least, according to her there had to be.

Kallus, even in all of his own cynical glory, was sure they were what they were portraying themselves as. It was a little sad and ironic to compare him and her this way.

In the end, though they practically forced her to stay with them, Kallus could say it was a kindness they did for her. Ezra overheard them talk about the Wookiees and she'd been made to stay with the Twi'lek pilot as the rest went to infiltrate the Imperial Transport Ship they thought to be carrying Wookiees. Kallus liked Hera –she'd liked Ezra from the beginning and had been the first to bring up taking her into the crew.

But then, Kallus' ship at the time came in and locked onto the transport ship and the Ghost, and Ezra was being begged to go warn the others.

He could see the indecision on her face and he held his breath. On one hand, he didn't want her to go because she ended up being captured and by him no less. On the other, he wanted her to start opening up again.

And also, by then, he realized he really wanted to meet her, and that he was now glad for their meeting.

So Hera pled to Ezra and she finally pushed herself to board the transport and save the others. When she finally found the others and let them know, it was almost too late. Still, it was enough time for them to get away as much as they could, ending up getting as far as a few feet away from the Ghost coming to get them. When the group's Lasat member – _"Name's Zeb!"_ –made to push Ezra aside in a hurry, it made her stumble and unfortunately get caught by Kallus himself. He saw the apologetic look Zeb tossed her before the door closed and the Ghost took off.

Even to now, he could remember how she'd slumped against him in defeat, not even bothering to struggle in his grip.

He watched silently as Ezra was stripped of her stuff and put into the cell, where (finally) he made his entrance. Her eyes watched him closely, something he noted last time, but this time he was close enough to see the resignation in her eyes.

"I am Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau," he announced succinctly, striding into the room. "If you… _cooperate_ , you can be home as soon as possible."

She continued to look down, but he saw her huff slightly to herself, unnoticeable unless you were up close to her.

"I don't know anything. I don't even really know those people. I just got stuck with them."

He hadn't believed her then and it hadn't mattered to him, but now he knew that she'd been telling the truth.

"You don't need to tell us anything," Kallus said stoically. "You just need to be here. You will be bait for the others –for surely they will come back for you."

Ezra looked at him incredulously, laughing slightly.

"People don't do that," though was all she said.

It had taken him aback then and it still did a bit. He realized now, to her, that she really had believed that and her experiences had shown her that to be true.

"They'll come," Kallus replied after a moment. He came closer to her, hesitating. He'd reached out, and Kallus had remembered he had been about to lay a hand on her shoulder. But he remembered his place and where he was ( _who_ he was), and instead pretended to brush lint off her shoulder.

That had still shown too much concern from him.

Ezra was left alone then, sitting silently in the dark. Kallus stood next to her, remembering this meeting clearly and thinking that if he could do it again, maybe this time he really would have put his hand on her shoulder.

Ezra took out something then, and he realized it was that strange contraption she'd stolen off of the Jedi, Kanan. It activated and showed a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi, who he recognized was a famous General from the Clone Wars. He just hadn't realized he had been a Jedi as well.

After the holocron finished, he saw Ezra get a look on her face before she stood up. To his amusement and surprise, she managed to act her way out of there, making him want to alternately hit those idiot Stormtroopers or laugh to himself about the whole situation.

Laughing, it seemed, was becoming all too common because of her.

She left there and found her way through the vents, finding a helmet (what is with her and helmets?) and taking back her pack. Once again through the vents, he made himself take a long breath as he understood now that the helmet she had was what she'd used to divert everyone from her real place in the ship and how she overheard where the Wookiees were. Though he later figured that out, right now he just wanted to shake his head about it.

To his relief and her surprise, the Ghost crew came back for her. She dropped down from the vents and faced them, almost getting her head knocked off by surprising Zeb and wearing the helmet she'd taken.

Then they were gone and he quietly watched the next events happen from her side. He retained a sense of amusement from watching her interactions with the others and the banter going on, but inwardly he was waiting for something.

And it happened when after everything was over. Ignoring his past self's own overeager and overzealous attitude in cornering her and the baby Wookiee, once he was out of the picture, he saw Ezra and Kanan trade understanding looks and he bringing her on board the freighter ship.

Soon enough, Ezra had a stolen lightsaber and then was given a choice.

Kallus actually gave a small, genuine smile when she chose to become the man's Padawan over keeping the lightsaber.

* * *

"We're all keeping silent about this," Kanan gave everyone a hard look. "No one says a word about this to anyone outside of our group."

"We should at least have a vote," Hera frowned at him. "Honestly, Ahsoka could help with this."

"We've got an ISB Agent on board and we're nearing Rebel Headquarters," Kanan scowled heavily. "And that's not even including to say about the Force bond they have! By the Force, I've felt it recently and it's beyond stronger than even the one I have with Ezra! Ahsoka knows the importance of Force bonds and how tricky they can be. That Ezra has one with _Kallus_ …"

Sabine and Zeb agreed, with the teenager less willing to do so, but Hera wasn't done with this matter.

For the good of the Rebellion _and_ for Ezra, Ahsoka should be told about this.

Started 4/17/16 – Completed 4/18/16


	8. Pack the Demolition (We'll Blow You)

So what if Kallus was supposed to be the enemy? Right now, all Ezra saw was a man who was obviously tormented. There was so much blood being spilled from either sides, and Kallus was cracking. He was trying to make sure he looked and acted normal in front of his soldiers, but when he was alone, Ezra was the only one who saw how tortured he really was by this planet-scaled war. He was plagued by nightmares at night, and haunting images by day. He had no peaceful time for himself anymore.

"Agent Kallus, the time to end this must come now. You must get rid of the Lasat presence on this planet and show that the Empire has no tolerance for rebellious acts of any kind. We _must_ set an example."

Kallus nodded and Ezra could only feel their combined resignation as they listened to his superiors. This would happen. Nothing would change this event in history, and an entire species would be almost wiped out.

Continual pressure was put on Kallus to end this quickly, and the blood spilled of both his men and the enemy was making him come closer and closer to trying to find a way to end this fighting immediately, no matter what. So when he came to see they had a shipment of T-7 Ion Disrupters with them, he ordered his troops to use them and end this fighting decisively and quickly.

He, nor the others, expected the results.

Once they started using them and saw the effects, Kallus was horrified and immediately regretted the order. So did Ezra as she saw the results of the weapon being used on the enemy, and she practically threw up in her mouth. Kallus wasn't too much better, as when he was alone in his room at a base, he had run to the bathroom and dropped to his knees, hurling into the toilet. He threw up everything he'd eaten, until he was throwing up bile into the toilet and was unable to do anything but gag into it and heave harsh breaths.

"This shouldn't have happened," Ezra whimpered, crossing her arms and holding herself tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to keep seeing the images that refused to go away.

_Blood and gore covered everything around them. The T-7 Ion Disrupters did their job. Did it a little_ _**too** _ _well. The enemy didn't have a chance against those things, especially as those weapons shot at the Lasats and caused them to practically divulge their organs to their surroundings and splatter their blood like paint coating the area._

_Death. Everywhere smelled like fire, brimstone, and death._

Kallus and his troops finished up the battle, tidying things up until the Lasats were all but no more in the eyes of the Empire. And then they were getting rid of their presence there and packing up, before leaving the planet behind and heading back home. Kallus easily acted normal, showing no emotion or that he was in any way affected by the slaughter, but Ezra knew better. By himself, Kallus was haunted by it and knew that he viewed the order of the disrupters as the biggest mistake he ever made and it was something he would never be able to get rid of.

"It's…" Ezra was going to say it was okay, but it really wasn't. And never would be, not even for Kallus. What happened wasn't okay, and was so, so wrong. And when it came to feelings, it really wasn't okay in that way either. And Kallus knew what had happened was wrong and not okay at all, and he knew that he wouldn't feel okay about it ever.

It was just… _not_ _ **okay**_.

"I'm sorry," she ended up saying instead.

Because she knew for that, they could agree they both were.

* * *

His head hurt. That was the first thing he noticed, which would be hard not to considering how it felt like someone had taken a blaster that had been shooting for several minutes and taken the burning end of the barrel to his temple and was letting it burn his head off.

But Kallus wasn't going to let any amount of pain deter him, so he took several breaths and then forcibly opened his eyes. He looked around, not recognizing anything. And then, as he saw the girl to his side, his thoughts about his surroundings halted and his thoughts immediately centered around her.

If he was next to Ezra right now, present Ezra, then he had woken up from whatever mind-trap he'd been in. And she was there, fine and alive –not starving on the streets and getting into harrowing situations like she was prone to do. He observed her then, noting the drawn look on her face, not at all peaceful like he had thought and hoped it would be (damn it all if that look was because of what she was viewing in her head, and his blasted memories were the cause). She looked otherwise normal and not in pain or distress, so he thought that it was a good sign.

Meanwhile, he did note that though _he_ was awake, she was strangely not. Was it because he was older and had more memories? Or was there something else at stake? He didn't like the idea that something was wrong.

Kallus took a few more breaths before he started to slowly sit up. He winced, feeling his body ache and feel sore. He must've been lying down and prone on the bed for far too long without movement, and his circulation was sluggish. He needed to get used to moving around more, wake up his muscles while he was at it.

He looked down at himself, seeing that his armor was off. One of his sleeves had been rolled up and an IV had been set up for him. Looking to his side, he saw that Ezra had one too. Slowly, so he didn't hurt himself or damage his vein, he removed the needle and examined it, wondering if he could use it as a weapon if he needed to. He was in what looked to be a med bay, so he could take a look around first to see if there was anything better, but he'd keep it in mind.

While he was looking around, he found a scalpel and held it tightly, deciding it would do as a weapon against any that would harm them. He made his way back to Ezra's side, hovering as he shifted closer to her. He instinctively moved into position to shield her from any potential danger or threat outside that room, not taking any chances against any threats to them.

Meanwhile, he had to think on everything that had happened. He saw her memories and had to think (again) about the Empire and the truth of the world order he served so faithfully all these years. He had already been shown that his views were faulty and his life tinted in naïve shades in regards to the Empire, after his time on the Geonosis moon with Zeb. But now, having not just seen, but practically lived and experienced Ezra's memories, he was having a hard time reconciling with the Empire.

Through his life, he had made hard and often horrible decisions. Not easy ones at all, and now he had to question them once more. Question even his loyalties and where they now lie…

Giving a glance to the unconscious girl next to him, he tentatively reached out and touched her shoulder. She was actually there, with him. She was physically there and he was touching her for real, unlike in the dreamlike state where though he had begun to be able to touch her there too, it wasn't like this where she was there in the flesh next to him.

The question to ask was what was he to do now?

"I am not sure what to do," he murmured aloud in the quiet room. "I do know that I won't leave you to the wolves. Not anymore."

Somehow, someway, things had shifted and she had become his number one priority. He wouldn't be letting anything happen to her, not if he could help it.

Even if that meant defying his own Empire.

* * *

Kanan stared at the blank screen, even after it had turned off and Ahsoka had disappeared from view. The room was stifling, especially with the tense silence that had sprung up in the wake of the Rebel Leader's words.

He whirled on Hera then, looking at her in betrayal.

"How could you?!" he shouted at her, while she looked back at him steadfastly.

"I did what I had to do," she said stubbornly. "This is for Ezra's own good too! Ahsoka is also a Jedi, and might be able to help figure things out."

"She's also one of the people in charge of the rebellion," Kanan scowled heavily. "Her priority would be to make sure the rebellion is steady and not under danger, and we have an ISB Agent that has been on our tail for nearly two years. And let's not forget the fact how dangerous the man is, or how far up rank Kallus is amongst the Empire itself, much less his bureau! The rebel leaders would look to take advantage of this situation, not help out! Oh wait, I forgot. You _are_ one of those leaders and have been trying to take advantage."

Hera looked at him aghast. "Kanan, that's not fair! Besides, didn't you say this situation has sort of happened before? Ahsoka would know more about that history, wouldn't she? Don't tell me that didn't cross your mind!"

"Come on, guys," Zeb held up his hands. "Why don't we take a step back and stop arguing a bit –"

"Hera's right though," Sabine cut in with a frown. "Kallus can be a fountain of uses. He has all sorts of information we can take out of him, even if we need to by force."

"Hey!" Zeb said indignantly, remembering the man he'd managed to bond with.

Sabine rolled her eyes. "Or ask politely, if he's as agreeable as you say he is."

"Ahsoka may or may not know more. What I _do_ know from the story is that they forcibly wiped Revan's memories with the Force, which is completely against the Jedi code. We are not going to do the same to Kallus, no matter who he is or what he's done," Kanan looked at Hera straight in the eyes. "Which is exactly what I fear and think will happen with the leaders of the rebellion, who may be looking to 'take advantage' of this, no matter what happens or is done. Or if they find him too dangerous to be around, do something to him that may affect or harm Ezra in turn. Whatever happens to him, I'm afraid of what will happen to Ezra. We saw what happened in the infirmary –one of them was hurt, so was the other. They can't be apart. They can't be hurt without hurting the other. They're stuck in this situation together."

Hera sighed. "Just have more faith in Ahsoka."

"Maybe I would," Kanan admitted. "But she's still a leader of the rebellion, and what's important is 'the sum of the whole' rather than just two people that are bonded together through circumstance."

"And maybe even fate," she added.

If that was true, all the more reason for Kanan to worry about this situation and of the upcoming visit from Ahsoka.

Started 5/4/16 – Completed 5/9/16


	9. You Better...

Kallus took a deep breath, trying to ignore the strange…itch that seemed to be bothering him. It wasn't an actual itch; more like something getting under his skin, or prodding at his brain. Maybe he shouldn't be so dismissive of the feeling though.

Experimentally concentrating on the feeling, he closed his eyes and focused. He 'grasped' onto the strongest feeling and tried to search for it, feeling himself recognizing the 'feel' of Ezra. He couldn't explain it, but he just knew that that was what he was feeling; some sort of bond connecting him to her. Is this what Jedi call a Force bond? As far as he knew, he thought that only related to and could be conceived between Force-sensitives. The Imperial archives weren't very forthcoming about any information of the past. Nothing before the beginning of the Empire was acceptable to be known anymore.

This was something he had to look further into. He had no idea what was going on, but he wanted answers. He also determinedly decided that he needed to look more into the things he had tried to ignore about his Empire before. Zeb had told him to ask questions and he had been debating with himself for so long about it since.

There were plenty of skeletons in his closet and monsters under his bed. He had to clean house now, and he was done being played a fool.

Suddenly, there was another 'itch' (more like a twinge) and he felt his concentration and direction drawn towards the infirmary's door.

Someone was coming.

* * *

Kanan, after expressing his anger and hurt, had left everyone behind and decided he'd check on Ezra. Who knows what was going to happen now? And he wasn't looking forward to his Padawan being put into this situation because of some stupid accident, and that she might have to be put under intense scrutiny because she was now tied up with Kallus.

And speaking of that guy…

It was hard to believe Zeb about him. He didn't doubt Zeb, but it was just hard to believe. And it didn't stop him feeling a little disgruntled with the guy for being a problem for them all this time, and more so now because of the connection he and Ezra now shared. He could do with the man not pulling his Padawan into this stupid trouble.

Reaching the infirmary, he opened it up and stepped in –

–only to be pulled in and then slammed against the door, with a scalpel (What? Where had that come from and how did he get his hands on it?) placed against his throat. Caught off guard by Kallus already being awake and from the sudden attack by the ISB Agent, Kanan was thoroughly flabbergasted and slightly confused. He glanced quickly at his Padawan, feeling relieved that she seemed okay but becoming more confused as to why she was still unconscious while Kallus wasn't.

Then he thought that over and became indignant.

"Why are _you_ awake already?" Kanan couldn't help griping, wishing it had been Ezra who'd woken up first.

Seeing the man recognize him, he was surprised that Kallus backed off easily. He watched curiously as Kallus backed up until he was at Ezra's bedside and was sticking close.

"I want answers," Kallus demanded, still watching Kanan warily. "What happened?"

Kanan, not sure of what was going on right then, felt like the best thing to do was to share what he could with the dangerous man.

"We were all running away from the explosions," Kanan started hesitantly. "You and Ezra split off into another direction on your own, and no one saw you or what happened. This is an assumption, but I'm guessing what happened was that the last huge explosion must've really put your life in jeopardy and Ezra made the decision to save you no matter what. She somehow managed to end up forming a Force bond with you. We found you two unconscious and unable to be separated from each other for long or go too far away from each other. That's when we decided we had to take you with us and you're on board our ship."

Kallus didn't look bothered (it was hard to tell with this guy –he had the perfect Sabacc face and could probably win the card game easily), but Kanan wasn't going to take that at face value. He was worried about what was going on in the man's head. Still, he couldn't help noting the instinctive protective stance Kallus took next to Kanan's knocked out Padawan through his explanation.

"What are you going to do with me?" Kallus ended up asking and Kanan had to take a pause, knowing that the other had probably caught that.

"There has been a new…change of plans," Kanan said carefully. "We had no idea what to do with you, aside that we had to keep you safe in order for Ezra to be okay as well. And well, because we're not sleemos like that," he added snarkily.

At Kallus' unimpressed look, Kanan inwardly huffed. "In any case, you are in our care and we won't let anything happen to you."

Kallus frowned heavily. "There's something meaningful about that? Something happened that requires you to try to 'reassure' me? You said there were a change of plans."

Kanan mentally cursed. Damn this guy and his ability to read between the lines so easily. He sighed and gave Kallus an unhappy look.

"At the moment, despite what I personally wanted and care for, one of the Rebel leaders is coming here. She's…also a Jedi," Kanan reluctantly admitted, but only to show that there was more to her coming there than to provide the harsh judgement and forcibly demanding information and cooperation from the Imperial soldier.

Still, the information clearly put Kallus on edge and that he wasn't happy about it. Well, him and Kanan both.

"I didn't really want this," Kanan said grumpily, still sore about Hera's decision to tell Ahsoka. "But Hera's right in that maybe Ahsoka, the one coming here, will be able to help and hopefully figure things out. She's a more experienced Jedi than I am, and might be able to do something about the situation."

"If that's the best course of action," Kallus said stiffly.

Kanan didn't believe the other man was all that okay with it, but there wasn't much either could do about it.

"Just stay in here for now," he told Kallus softly. "We _will_ figure things out and you can go back to your Empire in no time. We won't even say a word about all this."

Kallus' eyes glinted, which Kanan saw nervously.

"Who says I will care about going back?"

Kanan couldn't help but stare at him, before he decided he had to get back to the others and prepare for Ahsoka's arrival.

Kallus was being too strange for him to consider at the moment.

* * *

Ezra found herself with Kallus, who had steadily grown used to numbing himself from his memories. Having a more steadier job chasing after rebels and shutting down anyone and anywhere that showed a hint of rebellion, he at least no longer went into full-scale battles that were too gruesome to recall. Of course, there were times he had to engage in battle, but they were nowhere near as traumatizing as the Kamino Uprising or the Pacification of Lasat, and that was nothing to be said about his time on Onderon with his first platoon. Some of them, undoubtedly, still left a mark on him though. And though the years had lessened his night terrors, he was still plagued by them and was in no way cured of his PTSD.

What surprised her was to see her now in a Star Destroyer with Kallus, and overlooking the planet of Lothal.

This must be when he arrived to Lothal to deal with Kanan's crew, and just after they had met her. She remembered him being called on and being shipped off somewhere to deal with a particular rebel group that was giving trouble to the local authority on a planet, but she hadn't known they'd meant the Ghost crew.

The _Lawbringer_ , the first ship Kallus had taken control of, was helmed by Captain Hiram Zataire, who gave Kallus permission to dock onto the Star Destroyer. From there, she was surprised that Kallus requested to have a meal with the captain. But when dinner came, her surprise dulled as she realized just exactly what this meal was.

A way to see if he could trust Zataire as a loyal Imperial officer.

She could inwardly feel that Kallus wasn't exactly questioning Zataire's loyalties to the Empire, but he was specifically seeing if Zataire was trustworthy –if he could trust him. So something had to be up with Zataire then…his own personal life, maybe a loved one…family or friends?

Ezra shook her head. Kallus was rubbing off on her. She hadn't really went too in depth into a person's motivations, trying to figure out these kind of things and end up even breaking things down the way she had. She had always been the type to question a person of course, and try to see if they were trustworthy enough to do business with or as trustworthy enough for her to deal with. She would sometimes even see how and why someone did things or acted like so, just not in the matter that Kallus did and was now getting her to.

It hit her just how much Kallus had influenced her, and she wondered if maybe (if he really was seeing her memories) he was at least being a little influenced by her. It would be nice if he was a little more…kinder. Er, no. That might be a little too much for him. Merciful and less ruthless with them was much better.

"This wine…" Kallus held up the wine glass filled with dark red liquid and swirled the drink around. "It's Alderaanian, is it not?"

Ezra flinched. Even she was able to know that Alderaan was a planet deemed rebellious by the Empire, even if there was currently nothing done too much about the planet.

Zataire, unable to hide his nervousness, nodded. "Yes. It was a gift."

"From your son," Kallus flatly said. "Who I believe is…a very outspoken critic of the Empire."

Zataire flinched at that.

"Which means your son was on Alderaan," Kallus smoothly deduced. "And I may have to arrest him –"

"Please don't hurt him!" Zataire begged, and Ezra was surprised an Imperial could care so much about someone, especially someone who seemed to be against the Empire (family or not).

But she'd realized through all this that there was the other side of the equation she did needed to consider, and that she shouldn't think all of them were despicable people. Or at least completely despicable.

"The law will allow me to be flexible so long as you fully cooperate with me and my operations here."

"Of course, Agent Kallus," Zataire quickly agreed. "Whatever you need."

Kallus smiled slowly, a dark flourish. "Very good, Captain. The first thing I request of you is that you descend the _Lawbringer_ from orbit and have it hover over Capital City, where the citizens of Lothal will be able to witness the Empire's might," he ordered.

Captain Zataire was quick to agree again and Kallus stood up, concluding his business there.

"Thank you for the meal, Captain. I think we will work together just fine."

He dismissed himself and left.

That night, as Kallus stayed awake on his bunk and busied himself with his datapad, Ezra moved to sit next to him. Touching his arm, even though she knew he wouldn't feel it or acknowledge her, Ezra sat there a moment. Then she gave him a small smile.

"We're going to meet soon," she told him. "I hope I changed your life."

Because she felt that somehow he had managed to change hers without meaning to.

* * *

When the time came for Kallus to get into gear and get to work, she was right by him as he met with Aresko and was told about the stolen crates (she had to snicker at that, because it still made her day to remember how she stole one from under Kanan and the Empire's noses).

"Next time they make a move we'll be waiting for them, to snuff out that spark before it catches fire."

Ezra's lips twitched. "You should go into acting. Theater really. You're really good at speeches and talking in general. You've got that voice, mister. Also, you can get super dramatic." Well, at least he wasn't theatrical too. Then he would be over the top and wouldn't be as dangerous and scary, and she'd probably be laughing at him every time they met.

She pouted to herself as she was with Kallus as he actually planned out and conducted his trap to lure Kanan's group with the Wookiees' location. And then Kallus was with a unit of Stormtroopers and she waited with him for the inevitable chase of Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb (and then eventually her).

"I so hate you for this," she sighed and then pouted again. "This sucked and I hated being left behind."

It wasn't long until that happened, when the _Lawbringer_ dropped out of hyperspace, locked onto the _Ghost_ and the cruiser, and then Kallus and the Stormtroopers boarding the cruiser and was chasing after them. And when Ezra was caught by Kallus, present her could feel his disappointment at the others getting away, which was quickly replaced with calm and the thought of how he could still turn this around and work with what he had.

"Sure you can," Ezra smirked. "Maybe if it wasn't me."

She could imagine the glare he would've tossed her if he had heard her for real.

The Stormtroopers brought the memory of her into a cell, where she sulked and glared at the wall. It wasn't long until Kallus made his appearance. This time though, she studied him more closely and noted the things she had before a lot more easily and more details that she hadn't quite looked closely at before. The way his eyes had softened and the way his jaw had clenched in turmoil…

"Heh, you actually softened up for a moment for me?" she teased, but her smile dropped as his thoughts invaded her head.

' _So cynical already…This girl…How can she…What happened to her…'_

His thoughts jumbled in her head and she looked at the ground. Feelings of disbelief at her assertion that people wouldn't just help others, before a brief flash of sadness and even concern came. And he'd even reached out to her, before she could feel him get a hold of himself and fixed his mistake of showing that concern into something a little less obvious and pretending to brush lint off her shoulder. It was still too much of a sign of concern, and she and he knew it.

"Why ever would you have been concerned with the likes of me? Even then I was just some Loth-rat."

She smiled self-deprecatingly.

* * *

When the Jedi left, Kallus already went on the move. He found his armor, neatly put away in a corner, and rapidly put it on. It was easy to do, considering how many times he had put it on in the past, and how many times he had to do so quickly.

After he got ready, he grabbed a bag full of medical supplies and grabbed more to stuff in there. Slinging it over his shoulder, he then headed to Ezra's side and checked on her. Vitals were good, so he carefully took off her IV, and anything else she'd been hooked up to. Finding her okay, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the med bay succinctly.

He wasn't going to stay there for the Rebellion leaders to get their hands on him. But he also wasn't going to leave Ezra behind either, especially not to fend for herself.

He made a promise to her after all. Even if she hadn't been awake to hear it.

Started 5/17/16 – Completed 5/17/16


	10. So We Don't Kill the Ones We Love

So yes.

He realized this was an unusual and probably a crazed decision, but he wasn't operating under anyone's orders but his own and he had made Ezra's safety a priority. Maybe if it was a guarantee that Ezra wouldn't come under fire and only he would be the one facing any problems, then he would have stayed there and faced his interrogators head on. But it wasn't a guarantee and so he took off and he took Ezra with him.

Which meant he'd hijacked their shuttle, and had Ezra settled in it before flying off to somewhere they wouldn't be caught up in all that. At the moment, he was trying to figure out a location for them to fly to, somewhere that wouldn't be easy to find them or track them to, and especially be under the radar of the Empire. If it was anything like the last time he'd gone MIA, then they would look briefly (or had already looked briefly) before giving up on him and declare that he'd been killed in action.

This time, he wouldn't be coming back to correct them on that mistake.

They could assume what they would. If they thought he was dead, all the better for him and he could move around more freely without a care. He wouldn't be recognized even with his signature facial hair, unless it was one of the ones he'd worked with closely. And even then, once time passed, they too would have forgotten him. Imperials blended together, now that he looked back and went over the past with a meticulous eye and noticed and firmly saw to those flaws. He also now let himself see how uniformed and against individuality the Empire was, which helped Imperials blending in and making it easier to mix the likes of them all up and not stand out and be so noticed.

Even if you were, you would always be easily forgotten and replaced.

"These have to come off," he muttered, taking the Imperial insignias off of his chest armor. His helmet was a dead giveaway, unfortunately, of being part of the Imperial Security Bureau, so he would have to procure a replacement for it soon.

He glanced at the still unconscious girl, frowning to himself.

"Why are you still out?" Kallus mumbled, narrowing his eyes. Perhaps it was best she stay out until he had found a suitable planet for them to hide in and had landed on it, else she cause trouble for him about this whole kidnapping business.

Which, yes, he realized he had kidnapped her.

"It's for her own good," he grumbled to himself, finishing up on making his armor less distinguishable and more worn looking, so that it would bring him less attention. Still, he knew that if she had been awake, she'd probably be unhappy that he had just taken her and not given her a choice.

He shrugged to himself and decided he could always just apologize when she woke up. That should placate her…hopefully. After all, it wasn't like he was the type to usually apologize for anything, so it should count for himself that he was giving out an apology to her.

Or perhaps he was just deluding himself and knew it wasn't going to end well.

Kallus shook his head and glanced to see how much fuel he was running on. Not much –he'd have to stop somewhere and refuel, and maybe by then he'd have a destination in mind. An Outer Rim planet for sure. Empire jurisdiction was limited in Outer Rim territory, and some planets even had a severe lack of Imperial influence and control. For instance, Tatooine was ruled more by the Hutts, which put a smirk on his face as he recalled Ezra's mocking use of Jabba's name as her 'own' –

Tatooine.

"That's it," he said in triumph, deciding he'd set the shuttle to go there after he'd gotten the shuttle refueled.

Tatooine, desert planet it may be, was completely unruly and not as much under the Empire's control as they would have liked. That honor went to the ruling Hutt family, who had always practically had complete control over the planet. It was basically a desert wasteland and absolutely perfect for two people like Kallus and Ezra to get lost in and hide safely and not be caught.

He pushed the shuttle a little faster, determined now to reach Tatooine quickly, which meant he had to get the shuttle refueled in quick order. Because once that shuttle was refueled, he was ready to push it to its limits to get to that desert planet.

Finding that they were now entering the atmosphere of the planet that would refuel the shuttle, he landed by the refuel port and landed softly to the ground. Before leaving the shuttle, he checked on Ezra to make sure that she was alright and that she was still stable, despite having moved from the _Ghost's_ med bay and to this small moving shuttle. Finding that she was indeed still alright, Kallus left the shuttle, though he made sure it was locked up and no one would be able to sneak aboard and stumble upon and hurt Ezra while he wasn't by her side.

After a few more stops to stock up on supplies that they would need, Kallus made sure the shuttle was getting refueled before he felt his senses just go off. There was impending danger around him, and he somehow knew it. His senses had always kept him in high alert, able to detect danger relatively quickly, but there was something to this that was different. It was much sharper, more intense and specific.

He whirled around and faced the group that had been behind him, not letting them sneak up.

"Well, well –looks like this idiot wasn't as unaware as we thought, boys," the head of the group, Kallus assumed, mockingly sneered at Kallus while his entourage chuckled around him.

Kallus chanced a glance at the shuttle some feet away. Ezra should be safe and sound there…

"Leave now and I'll let you live," Kallus told them stoically.

The group of five laughed at him, but he wasn't deterred. He could and would take them all on if he had to.

"Come on, boys. Let's show this druk whose boss around here," the first man yelled out and they charged at Kallus. He almost laughed. There was no technique or finesse in their movements, and probably neither in their fighting.

He ducked the first punch thrown and then easily lashed out with his own series of punches that made the puncher howl and fall to the ground. Two of them came at him from his sides, but he watched his flanks closely and twisted around one of them, grabbing him and then harshly throwing him at the other, making them collide violently. That was three of them.

Two more to go.

"I thought you were going to show me who was boss?" he asked indifferently with his face matching, but there was an unmistakable thread of mocking in his voice that infuriated who was left.

"Shut up!" one of them roared and rushed at him.

Kallus inwardly snorted, standing his ground and waiting patiently. The man came at him and Kallus threw a hard left at the man's face and then kneed his stomach, causing the man to fly back in the direction he'd come from.

The only one left was the head of the group, who was now eying him warily. He held up his hands.

"Come on now," he said with a twitching grin. "We were just messing around…"

"Leave!" Kallus barked out, and the man left his group behind in a bid to save his own behind. "What a waste of time," he grumbled and was about to head back when he saw movement from his peripherals and he whirled to face who it was defensively.

The man revealed similarly held up his hands, trying to project friendliness.

"Woah, there! I was just coming to see if you needed any help, but looks like you have it under control," his grin widened. He looked around at the moaning in pain men around them and whistled. "Color me impressed though. I'm Wrenga Jixton, but I go by Jix."

Kallus eyed the newcomer warily. He was around Kallus' height; tall and probably around the same build. Jix's brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, with two shorter strands hanging over his forehead. The man's dark vest and brown pants seemed to be the only pieces of clothing he wore, given that Jix's torso was bare underneath the vest.

He debated about his name and how he was going to introduce himself, since the situation had come up. Given that he wasn't sure how recognizable his name was, he probably had to tweak it or come up with something…

"Anakin Skywalker," he found himself uttering. It was a long forgotten name of the past, and as the Empire discouraged and erased anything of the past, he doubted it would be recognized.

"Well, Skywalker, looks like your ship's ready to go," Jix pointed out. "But I was wondering if you don't mind me hitching a ride?"

"To where?" Kallus asked suspiciously.

"To anywhere," the other replied breezily. "Just so long as it's off this rock."

That raised Kallus' guard. Why didn't he have a destination? Why was he there in the first place? And why approach Kallus, especially if he had indeed saw the trouble Kallus was supposedly in? Most people would have run away…

"Sorry, not enough room," Kallus declared firmly and then turned his back on the other, striding towards the shuttle quickly. Still, with his back turned, he made sure to be doubly aware of his surroundings in case the other decided to strike him from behind or someone else got the bright idea to ambush him.

"Hey, wait! I've got credits. If you want to be paid, I'll pay you for passage."

Kallus stopped at that, thinking about it. He didn't have much money on him, especially having spent much of what he had on supplies to help out. But Ezra would need things too, and who knows what they would need later on?

"How much are we talking about?" Kallus asked as he turned to look at Jix, not ready to just give in just yet.

"I've got a few thousand credits," Jix told him. "I'll split half with you."

That both interested and put Kallus on edge. Who splits that much money with someone and why?

"Look, I just really need to get out of here," Jix said almost pleadingly, a bit of nervousness seeping into his voice. "Hell, if you want all of it, I'll give you all of it."

"That won't be necessary," Kallus said coolly. The offer was tempting, but he didn't want to bet all his cards on it. "I'll let you on board, but at any sign of trouble and I'll toss you out into space."

Jix grinned widely. "Of course. Got ya."

Kallus continued on, letting the man make his way to following him. By the time they reached the shuttle though, Kallus stopped him.

"There's someone else on board the shuttle with me," Kallus said warningly.

"Okay, I'll make sure to behave," Jix kept on grinning. Kallus refrained from rolling his eyes and opened up the shuttle, entering it and letting the other follow him in.

Kallus' eyes immediately darted to Ezra, taking note of her current condition. Afterwards, he went to the pilot's seat and gestured to the co-pilot for Jix to sit in, and as far away from Ezra as possible.

"So…girlfriend? Wife? Mistress?" Jix asked curiously and somewhat teasingly as he glanced at the unconscious girl in the back, while Kallus was in the middle of powering up the shuttle and plugging in the destination.

He gave Jix an irritated glance. "No," he said tersely. "She's…an acquaintance," his voice unfortunately faltered. Given what they were to each other, even with the memory swap (he _needed_ to know if this was true because he was sure his memories weren't being kind to her…), along with the fact that he had indeed kidnapped her…

Jix gave a hum, glancing at him. "…Okay."

Kallus ignored him and set to flying off into space.

"She's pretty though."

His hands jolted the yoke violently, causing the ship to shake even more violently. He glared over at Jix, who held up his hands again.

"Behaving! Behaving!"

"Try to keep quiet, will you?" Kallus' upper lip curled.

Jix mimicked zipping up his mouth and gave another grin at Kallus, who chose to go back to ignoring him and focus on flying the shuttle.

The trip to Tatooine felt like it was going to be a long one.

* * *

Kanan was avoiding looking at Hera. In fact, he made sure he was focusing on grabbing what he needed to make his snack.

"You can't act like this forever," Hera said annoyed.

He was about to snap something back, when Sabine ran into the living area (to Zeb's relief, since he was sitting there uncomfortably as he watched and listened to the couple, who hadn't even noticed him). She was out of breath and looked alarmed, which set off the others.

"Sabine, what's wrong?" Hera asked worriedly.

"Kallus and Ezra are missing from the infirmary!" she managed to get out.

"What? I was just there!" Kanan's eyes widened.

At the moment, their problems exacerbated when they heard how they were being hailed.

"I think that's Ahsoka," Zeb said faintly, looking like the world was probably going to end soon. Why in the Karabast did everything have to go wrong all at once?

"Sabine, get Ahsoka and bring her here," Hera started giving around orders. "Zeb, check around the ship. Maybe they're still around here somewhere. Kanan, try to calm down and sit here, look like everything's normal, yeah? You and I are going to sit at this table and act like nothing's wrong."

"Until something really, really is," Zeb added 'helpfully.'

"Go!" Hera shooed them off, while Kanan went to sit at said table.

"This is totally not going to work, you know that, right?" Kanan told her mulishly.

"Probably not," Hera sighed, going to sit at the chair opposite Kanan and slumping over the table.

Kanan softened up slightly and reached over to grab her hand, squeezing it. They waited and Sabine was there with Ahsoka first, unfortunately for them, but even worse, she had Jun Sato and some woman they didn't recognize.

"Hey, Ahsoka," Kanan greeted, offering a smile and trying not to give anything away until Zeb came and hopefully had good news for them.

"Kanan," Ahsoka gave him an apologetic smile. "You know Commander Sato. This is Senator Mothma –she is one of the founders of the Rebellion and the leader."

That made Kanan's stomach drop and he had the sudden thought that maybe it was a good thing that Kallus and Ezra weren't there –that the ISB Agent had probably taken off with her. Thinking about it and how strange the other had been acting and what was said, Kallus didn't seem likely to harm Ezra. The only threat Kanan could deduce to her (those two) were these people in front of him, and he was _not_ okay with all three of them having come here to deal with this problem that should've been kept within the crew. And when he saw Zeb enter through the entrance and stop short, giving a wincing look with Kanan, he knew exactly what to say.

"I'm sorry to say that Agent Kallus and Ezra aren't here," Kanan said in a cold tone.

Sato looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean 'not here?' Where could they have gone?"

"Phantom's gone," Zeb spoke up. "He probably loaded her onto it and took off."

"Is there no way to track them down?" Mothma finally spoke up, her face serious and too solemn. It made Kanan inwardly balk.

He stood his ground though, and to be a little shit, he decided to add onto the situation.

"That's right," Kanan straightened up in his seat, smirking smugly. "Gone. Off to somewhere where I hoped they understand is far away."

Maybe Kallus taking off with Ezra hadn't been his idea, but he was going to make it look like it was and he was going to damn well take the credit for it and piss off everyone all around (while hoping Ezra was safe and sound and that idiot ISB Agent made sure she was).

"What are you doing?" Hera hissed quietly to him. He pointedly ignored her, crossing his arms and leaning back casually.

"They're gone," Kanan announced proudly. "Far, far away from you people," he dismissively gestured towards them.

"I don't think you know how big an opportunity we just had –!" Sato glared at him.

Mothma held up a hand, silencing him. "Then there is no further use for us here, if that is the case. We will have to focus elsewhere and try to find other advantages. We must, however, remember to stand united," she gave Kanan a glance, though she briefly raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure, sure," Kanan said in boredom, still acting like this was all his idea. "We are. Only they're united with us in a place far, far away. 'Cause you know, I'm sure you all mean the best and everything. But it's as I told my dear favorite agent –people's heads can get a little quirky during war, if you know what I mean."

Though Sato was leveling an impressive glare at him, Mothma's serious and unreadable stare was causing Kanan to sweat nervously. Then she smiled faintly and nodded.

"Very well. Then I will say again, we are not needed here. Commander Sato, come with me. Commander Ahsoka, I will leave you to it."

The woman elegantly turned on her heel and left them behind to stew in silence. After another aggravated glare, Sato followed suit.

"Again, what was that?" Hera asked in disbelief, glaring at Kanan himself and forgetting Ahsoka was still there.

"What are you talking about?" Kanan shrugged. "I told Kallus to run. It's all my idea. I wanted to make sure they weren't anywhere near when Ahsoka came, and good thing given who else was here."

"But you had us running around and panicking about their disappearance?" Sabine asked questioningly. Ahsoka stayed quiet, watching the proceedings with a keen eye.

"I bought them a little more time, stalling for as long as I could," Kanan huffed, keeping it up.

Upset, Hera got up and left there without another word. Sabine frowned thoughtfully but began to follow as well.

"I'll go talk to her," Sabine said over her shoulder.

Zeb grunted, shaking his head. "Karabast, you're all insane." He grunted and glanced between Kanan and Ahsoka. "But I, uh, will just leave you two to it."

And when he left, it was just him and Ahsoka, who was watching him patiently.

"Ahsoka," Kanan greeted patiently, waiting for the lecture.

"I want to say that I have no idea what is going on in your head, Kanan, but the truth is that I understand," she told him quietly. "And though I am sorry to have brought them along and made you unhappy and caught off guard, they needed to be here and to be apprised of the situation. I do wish that I could have introduce all of you to Senator Mon Mothma differently, considering who she is. I also know that you did not, in fact, send Kallus away with Ezra. For all your posturing about the situation, the truth is Kallus became a wild card and had taken it upon himself to take Ezra and take off with her somewhere."

At that, Kanan couldn't help but grimace and give Ahsoka a worried stare.

But Ahsoka's next words calmed him. "I've done my part as a leader for the rebels. Now I must advise you as a fellow Force-user."

"And what do we do?"

"We have to find Ezra," Ahsoka told him firmly. "She is one of the few trained –even if in training still –Force-users left and we need her, as part of the rebellion and more so as a Jedi. The Inquisitors are also out there and we have no way of tracking them, but we have a better chance of finding her."

"And we have to find her before them," he concluded. "And as much as I think Kallus will and is able to protect her from everything and everyone else," that brought a curious and questioning look from her, but he made to finish so he didn't have to answer and tell her why that was so, "he wouldn't be a match for the Inquisitors, especially with two of them."

"Then after we settle our business here, tell your crew about our plans, and then the two of us will set off to find Ezra and go after the Inquisitors," Ahsoka surprised him.

But it made sense. They would never stop hunting them, so the three of them had to take the fight to the Inquisitors and finish them off before they could finish the last of the Jedi.

He just hoped Kallus could hold up with Ezra until then.

Started 5/25/16 – Completed 5/27/16


	11. That's the Sound of Life

Ezra shifted, frowning to herself as she realized she wasn't in her bunk aboard the Ghost. Her body felt stiff too, as if it hadn't moved in a long time…

Finally opening her eyes, she was quick to recognize the interior of the Phantom and attempted to sit up quickly in alarm. However, she realized her body was somehow too sluggish for the attempt and she only managed to lurch to her side and almost off of the "bed" she was on.

Just then, a handsome (if unfamiliar) face practically shoved itself right in front of hers, and she nearly fell back from the sudden action.

"Hey, Anakin! Your little lady friend's awake!" the man stood back up and hollered.

' _Anakin? Who's that? Why does that name sound familiar?'_

The sounds of heavy boots walking along greeted her ears, and to her shock, she soon found herself face to face with Kallus.

"You want me to go up front and watch the shuttle, Anakin?" the mystery man asked Kallus, who for some reason unknown to Ezra was going by 'Anakin.'

"We're landing soon on Tatooine," Kallus said stiffly. "See if you can land the shuttle somewhere."

"No problem," the man said casually, strolling out of there unconcernedly.

What was going on? Tatooine? Why was Kallus there and on the Phantom? And who was that person?

' _This is getting too strange. I need answers,'_ and she said so aloud as well.

Kallus actually, very strangely, looked uncomfortable.

"This is what your Jedi Master told me about… _our_ _situation_." He then explained about what had happened when she healed him, the creation of the Force bond, and the consequences of them not being near each other for too long (although, now that they were awake, they wondered how that worked or if it had changed).

"Okay…but where is everyone, why are we on the Phantom and not the Ghost, why are we about to land on Tatooine, and who was that guy?" Honestly, she still wasn't sure about the situation, but she was beginning to remember memories now that she was sort of numbing up from her confusion, and she was having trouble looking at Kallus and seeing the man she knew from before all this.

Kallus cleared his throat. "I might have…I might have taken you and the shuttle, and taken off to Tatooine."

Ezra stared at him for a moment. Then…

"WHAT?"

For the next ten minutes, as the shuttle began its descent into Tatooine's atmosphere at a leisurely pace, Ezra screamed and yelled at Kallus and threw what was nearby her at him. She repeatedly called him insults like "Idiot!", "Stupid!", "Dumbass!", and also frequently called him a "Kidnapper".

"There…there was an issue," he managed to explain before she could find something else to throw at him, and he'd managed to have enough time to say it. She paused in her efforts, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "The Jedi, your Master…he told me that a leader of the Rebellion was coming. Someone named Ahsoka. I couldn't take the risk of staying."

Ezra frowned. "She wouldn't have hurt you. Even if she was hoping you would provide information or something, you wouldn't have been hurt. Ahsoka's not like that."

Kallus raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't be naïve. She's one of the leaders of your Rebellion. She has an obligation to do what she can to get information to help your side. And actually, I was not worried about the probable interrogation I would have gone through. In all fairness, I probably would have not cared, though I wasn't going to stay there and let them get me. I was more concerned about the fact that they could exploit you and our…Force bond, so I took you with me as I wasn't going to leave you behind and I definitely wasn't going to leave you to fend for yourself against them. But if you had been safe, had I been sure you wouldn't have gotten into trouble because of all this…maybe I wouldn't have left and would have faced down my interrogators. But that wasn't certain, which leads us to here now," he concluded a little more hesitantly than how he'd started so confidently.

Ezra was a little convinced (to be fair, Kallus was a good talker, but she'd already come to know that). "Are you staying here?"

" _We're_ staying here," Kallus said firmly, and Ezra only raised an eyebrow at what he said (mostly his tone though). She wanted to snicker though; if Kanan had trouble giving her orders and making her obey them, what made Kallus think she would listen to him any better?

"I know what you're thinking," he said, making her give him a strange look. "I know you," he tacked on simply. "I'm pretty sure I know you even better than you know yourself."

"I could say the same for yourself," she blurted out, but it came out more as an accident than as a quick, witty retort.

They then stood there awkwardly, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. They couldn't even look at each other.

"So you did see my memories," he muttered.

"So you saw mine?" she asked anxiously.

They finally looked at each other and they didn't have to actually voice their answers.

"For what it's worth, which I'm sure is nothing, I'm sorry," he clenched his jaw.

"Me too," she said miserably.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before feeling lithe arms wrap him in their hold. He opened his eyes to look down at her holding onto him tightly, as she buried her face into his chest.

"Our fates got kind of twisted," she mumbled against him.

"Yeah, you can say that," though honestly, he wasn't sure if she meant their lives separately or the current situation they were stuck in together.

* * *

"So…"

Kallus cleared his throat while Ezra hesitantly stood by him, kind of inching behind him and trying to hide from the grinning, handsome man.

Also, why was his chest showing?

The tinge of red on her face was testament to the fact that she was not used to men showing their bodies off, and he was the kind of guy that acted cocky and walked around with no fear of anything. With his tied back hair and his arrogant grin that matched the equally arrogant stance, Ezra was a little unsure how to approach him, much less talk to the obviously attractive man (and who knew he was).

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty," he winked at her, causing her blush to intensify. Kallus started to frown. "I was afraid I was going to have to get this guy to kiss you awake!"

By then, Kallus was frowning deeply and Ezra's face was burning. But the man's good cheer and friendly nature was winning her over, and it was kind of a relief to have someone like that around.

She huffed and playfully glared, despite her bright red face. "Yeah, yeah. Jealous much?" she teased.

He blinked before his grin became one huge, gleeful thing. "I like you," he laughed. "Name's Wrenga Jixton, but you can just call me Jix."

"I'm Ezra," she said, though she gathered from Kallus' fake name that she shouldn't be freely giving her name out. Well, she avoided her surname at least.

"Nice to meet you," Jix said delightfully.

For some reason, Ezra was sure that Kallus was (if possible) frowning even more than before. He didn't seem like a happy person right then, and she was probably understating that. She kept quiet just in case though and kept on observing.

"I'm glad you two are getting along so well," Kallus said stoically, though Ezra was definitely sure that he didn't mean that. She didn't even have to hear his tone or look at his face; she was getting a sliver of his feelings across the bond (she had really not wanted to think about or look into that right now). He seemed aggravated for some reason. "Nevertheless, we have to get out of this shuttle and figure out our next step. That means hopefully securing either a place to stay, as I doubt this shuttle will be suitable for an indefinite stay, and hopefully some food and new clothes."

"True," she answered idly, thinking about what he said. "You're definitely recognizable, so we should do something about it in town…"

"He could shave off his facial hair," Jix interrupted with his suggestion, aiming to be helpful. Kallus glared at him. "No offense, Anakin, but your muttonchops are like a signature look. It screams you!" Kallus glared even harder at him at that, and Ezra had to hide her smirk.

"We should head out," Kallus decided to ignore the other and directed that towards Ezra. He stood up and started to head towards the exit of the shuttle, to which Ezra inwardly shrugged and followed after him.

Still, she wasn't going to give up on contacting Kanan, even if she had decided to play along and stay with them.

* * *

Kallus had thought that now that he'd gotten Jix off that planet and had gotten the man to a destination, he would go on his way. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as the man seemed to steadfastly stick by their side, even as they headed into the desert town in search of their needs. He wasn't even paying attention to the intent stares Kallus was showering his way, trying to convey the "Go away!" message in them with a fierce passion.

He tried doubly so as he watched Jix and Ezra chat amiably, frowning heavily to himself.

"How about you guys start with clothes?" Jix recommended. "You guys seem to only have what you have on, and they're not really suited for these surroundings. Plus, you also need to get something unrecognizable, right? Something comfy and suiting to these parts, but also clothes that'll blend in."

Since when had this man interjected himself into their hideaway plan? And he had also, to Kallus' worry, ended up knowing a little too much about what they were up to for his liking…

He hadn't let anything slip, he was sure, but during recent talks with Ezra, things were too heavily implied. The other had probably already deduced a lot.

"Clothes then," Ezra agreed for the both of them, but Kallus kept watch on their attached guest. "We need new clothes anyway. We can't keep just wearing one set of clothing over and over, so we need to buy at least a few of everything, especially if we really are going to stay here for who knows how long."

Ezra pointed out a few stands that the market they'd entered hosted. Those seemed centered on clothes, so they ended up looking at them and figuring out prices. Ending up with the smallest and the most out of the way stand, Jix comfortably stood by himself to the side as Ezra and Kallus looked around separately and began to choose a few shirts and pants. Kallus also saw a pair of cloaks that would work well for them as they ventured around the sandy terrain and would keep the sand from getting into their eyes, noses, and mouths.

Having gotten their basics, Kallus was disappointed to not have been able to find a replacement helmet there, though that place actually did sell a few kinds. Nothing of which he was satisfied with, so he didn't bother with them.

"Hey, Anakin, can I get this?" he heard Ezra ask from a foot away from him. He looked away from the helmets to look at her, seeing Jix by her side.

"Yeah, let her have it, Skywalker," Jix said, voice teasing.

He had no idea what they were talking about and was just about to head over when an amused voice spoke up from near them.

"Excuse me…but you're Anakin Skywalker?"

All three of them turned and faced an older man, beard and hair already graying, and wearing a brown cloak over simple beige clothes. The unknown man smiled widely, knowingly even.

"It's just that we probably know each other, _Anakin_. It's me –Ben Kenobi."

Kallus' face paled and he cursed in every language he knew in his head.

Started 9/7/16 – Completed 9/18/16


	12. Sandy Planet

Kallus' nerves were on fire. He _knew_ he shouldn't have used that name. But really –what were the chances that someone would recognize that name in this day and age? Especially with the indoctrination of the people due to the Empire, and the removal and sterilization of anything from the time that existed before the Empire. He'd had to dig hard into the old archives, and even then that information was classified and deemed restricted. It was even less of a chance that they would actually _run into_ anyone who would recognize the name.

And now there was a man named Ben Kenobi leading them to his home, and who Kallus feared might be related to _the_ Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I do not bite, if you must know," the man said in an amused voice, watching them kindly.

Kallus wasn't reassured at all, not even as they reached the 'safety' of Ben's house and had sat down as the older man puttered about and made them cool drinks. He did make sure to watch over Ezra, who was starting to become a nervous wreck, nibbling at her lower lip incessantly and wringing her hands as she stared after Ben. Jix, oddly, had remained quiet and serious-faced, not interfering or saying anything. It put Kallus off and made his gut tell him to look more into this person who he had thought he'd had pegged down. He'd already been suspicious and wary of Jix, but that was his normal reaction to anyone he didn't know or was unfamiliar with –now he was sincerely suspicious of the other and beginning to be distrustful.

Just then, Ezra had been so nervous she ended accidentally knocking over the glass Ben had just placed in front of her. She was quick to rescue it from falling though, but Ben had already tilted his head at the event.

"You have quite the reflexes, young lady," he complimented, looking Ezra over thoughtfully.

Kallus grew tenser and shifted slightly.

"On the way here, I'd noticed little things like that," he commented idly, glancing over at Kallus momentarily. His attention quickly returned to Ezra. "You wouldn't, by chance, be able to use the Force, would you?"

"What?" Ezra's eyes widened. "N-no way!" She gave a nervous laugh. "That's just old mystical junk, right? The Force isn't real…it's, uh, just a myth."

Ben smiled slowly. "Oh, I'm definitely sure you have an affinity for the Force."

"I really don't!" Ezra kept trying to deny it, but Kallus thought it was futile. He was also agitated to continue to see Jix quiet and watching with too sharp eyes. It made his suspicion grow even more.

Kallus stood up threateningly, slowly moving closer to Ezra. "What's it to you if she can?" he narrowed his eyes at the older man, scowling heavily.

Ben barked out a laugh and he actually smirked as he waved a hand and made all of their drinks float into the air. And then it clicked for Kallus, who winced and cursed in his head in several languages.

Ben Kenobi wasn't a relative of Obi-Wan's. He _was_ Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Oh," Ezra said faintly, completely caught off guard and amusingly had her jaw lowered in shock. "You're…you're…you're a Force-user too…"

"A Jedi to be precise," he revealed, looking at the three of them carefully. "He's an Imperial," he looked at Kallus, who stiffened up. "Moves like one, acts militarily, and has habits like one. Being with you and knowing about you, however, means he's choosing to move against the Empire. Force-users aren't really lightly let around these days after all," he commented unflappably. He turned to her completely. "You are knowledgeable in the Force, slightly trained. It's in the way you move and the subtle hints of the way you talk about the Force. But you are still young and unsure, so you aren't completely trained and still somewhat new to it. Hm…not too new though, actually…"

But then his eyes turned to Jix. "You, young man…you seem almost a complete mystery," but Kallus was sure that Obi-Wan wasn't unaware of the other truthfully. "You act a rogue, seem carefree, move around as you want…but there are chains binding you, isn't there? Hm, hm…"

To Kallus' consternation, Obi-Wan didn't continue. He instead turned back to Ezra.

"Were you learning about the Force before you came here?" he asked curiously.

Ezra swallowed, glancing at Kallus hesitantly. "Y-yes. I had a Master. His name's Kanan. Um, actually, his name used to be Caleb Dume."

Obi-Wan gave her a look of surprise. "Young Caleb was your Master? It really has been so long…Where is he and how far along are you in your training?"

Ezra cleared her throat and looked to Kallus again. He decided then was a good time to cut in.

"It is a long story," he said, catching Obi-Wan's attention. He didn't really want to speak of this in front of Jix, but he wasn't sure he had a choice, what with the way Obi-Wan was intently staring at him. "She and I…we _were_ enemies not too long ago. There was a battle…and then an explosion…I was dying. She somehow saved me. But in doing so, according to her Master, she'd created a Force Bond between us."

"Revan and Bastila," they heard him mutter.

"We were both unconscious and ended up trapped in each other's memories," Kallus admitted. "We couldn't be separated, so her crew brought me aboard their ship and kept us together. I woke up first and made the decision to slip off the ship with her, since I found out from her Master that a leader of…of the rebellion was coming and I didn't want to be caught up in it, nor leave her to deal with it either, especially given our circumstances and new bond."

"And I told you Ahsoka wouldn't have done anything bad," Ezra grumbled.

"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan quickly asked, eyes widening.

"Um, yes?" Ezra hesitantly confirmed.

Obi-Wan sighed. "My old Padawan Anakin," he gave a quick look over to Kallus, "had accepted his own Padawan later on. Her name was Ahsoka Tano."

"Oh, that's her!" Ezra grinned widely. "I can't believe you guys know each other! And now I remember that Anakin name…She was the one who told me about him!" She also gave a glance over to Kallus.

Obi-Wan turned his attention back to Kallus, who took that as his cue to continue. He then told him about getting Ezra and leaving there, and eventually getting to Tatooine and why he'd chosen the planet. Obi-Wan made a noncommittal noise.

"I see…And the two of you will be here for an unforeseeable time?" he asked.

"I guess," Ezra mumbled.

"Yes," Kallus said firmly.

"Yes," Jix echoed, finally speaking up. Looks were given to him, but he clearly paid them no attention. Kallus continued to inwardly frown, convinced now that something was definitely up with the other.

Obi-Wan nodded. "You will need to continue your training. I believe it is best that you continue your learning under my tutelage."

Ezra and Kallus were taken aback. He was torn between thinking it was a fortunate twist of fate to being unsure. She needed to train and continue learning it, but they didn't want to be found or noticed…

"Please teach me," Ezra said determinedly, making the decision and Kallus inwardly sighed.

"Then that's settled," Obi-Wan straightened up. "Now, how about we all introduce ourselves? With our _real_ names?"

Kallus twitched, especially with the looks thrown at him (quite obviously from Ezra and Jix –who he didn't even want to hear from or had the right to say anything!).

Ezra started first, smiling widely and clearly already making herself comfortable and with the situation. "I'm Ezra Bridger! Padawan and part of the Ghost crew and the Rebellion!"

Ugh, he would have to reiterate to her the importance of anonymity. There was no need to say her last name as well or tell so much about herself.

At her expectant look though, he copied her. "Coriolan Kallus," he scowled. At her prodding (did she really just poke him with her finger?), he added on, "Former Imperial Loyalist."

Then it was Jix's turn and he admitted that he had focused in fixedly, wondering what the other man was going to say and if he would reveal anything at all.

Jix cleared his throat and watched them back warily. "Wrenga Jixton…former prisoner of the spice mines in Kessel."

Though the other two looked surprised and said nothing to that, Kallus' frown grew. He didn't think that was untrue and it made sense to much of his behavior…but he felt there was something more and he was determined to pull it out of the other.

"It is an ordinary day," Obi-Wan started. "Nothing truly goes on much around these parts of the planet most days anyway. You and I can start on training, seeing where you are at and what else I need to teach you and where you need improvement on. The two of you can continue to collect anything you need or deem necessary from the market. It will also help for you to get used to the dry, hot planet –Tatooine is one of the hottest and sandiest planets there are, and it takes a long while to get adjusted to it."

Kallus didn't want to leave Ezra behind or alone with anyone (nor did he want to be stuck with Jix), but at the same time, this was the opportunity he needed to get his hands on the other and try to force him to talk. He knew there was something up with Jix and he was determined to find out what it was.

That was why, a few moments later found the two men heading out together and walking irritably through the sands and trying not to trip or stumble.

"I _hate_ this!" Jix hissed, glaring at the sand. "How can anyone travel through this on a daily basis is beyond me!"

Kallus hated to agree with the other, but Jix had a point. "I suppose most of them use speeders too," he grumbled, wishing they'd been loaned one. Unfortunately, it didn't even seem like Obi-Wan _owned_ one, much less would be able to loan a speeder. Maybe he should look into that when they were in town…

He took another step and his foot sunk down as the sand shifted, which led to him pitching forward ungracefully and only barely catching himself from falling. He cursed and angrily swiped his hand sideways.

"Enough!" The gesture, however, pulled forth an unexpected outcome, waves of sand behind pushed outwards from an invisible force.

"You're…you're not a Force-user either, are you?" Jix asked faintly.

"…No?"

What had just happened?

* * *

It was with a mix of satisfaction and anxiety that Kallus faced the two practiced Force-users, who were staring at him in shock after his explanation. Jix was sitting nonchalantly near him, but he paid him no attention for now.

"It's not…"

"Possible?" Ezra cut in, sounding incredulous.

" _Im_ possible," Obi-Wan corrected, scrutinizing Kallus. "I can only theorize that you could've been imbued by the Force after Ezra used it to save your life and/or you had always been at least a weak Force-sensitive, and the whole situation activated and amplified it."

The oldest Force-user in the room made a thoughtful noise. "People achieve Force-sensitivity by three ways. It's inherited, in which case one of your parents might have been able to use the Force."

At everyone's looks, Kallus answered stiffly. "I never knew my mother. My father was definitely not one."

He saw Ezra hide her wince and he wished she hadn't been so informed about his childhood.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, it could have been an earlier relative, but the more far back, the lesser the chances. But the second known mean was through random mutation or evolution. This could also be a reason for your sudden ability to wield the Force, but with the circumstances as is…it just seems highly unlikely a coincidence and to be so random. But the third method…artificially imbuing one with sensitivity to the Force could definitely be an explanation, an accident this time because of Ezra's actions."

"I guess," Ezra gave Kallus a considerate look. "To be honest though, I kind of want to go with the 'always a weak Force-sensitive' theory, or at least combine that with the imbuing. Cor's always been really awesome with his instincts and reflexes, and you know, it would make sense that it was his 'Jedi-sense' going off."

Kallus gave her a look of surprise, having caught the nickname and the fact she'd even used his name at all.

"I see," Obi-Wan said in amusement. "Imagine if he's been like that before all this –then now I would think that his instincts and reflexes would be doubly impressive."

"Psh," Ezra pouted. "Figures this guy would get an upgrade."

But she tossed him a wide smile and he was startled that she was being so open and agreeable with him.

He started to smirk slowly.

"Well, I suppose the Force just wants to make me so wonderfully Forceful."

Ezra and Jix burst into laughter while Obi-Wan twitched at the stupid pun.

Started 10/13/16 – Completed 10/19/16


	13. Not an Angel

"I…I hadn't expected this at all!"

Neither did Kallus. He grunted, giving a glare at Jix, who had exclaimed that and was watching in horrified fascination.

"Concentrate!" Ezra barked out and threw another rock in Kallus' direction.

He barely avoided it, splitting his attention between the evasion and also trying to lift up another rock that had been set in front of him.

"Did you meditate last night?" she asked accusingly.

"I did," Kallus twitched, sweat beading at the temples of his head. This was…a lot harder than he thought it would be. "I'm just having trouble."

She frowned and said nothing, watching sharply.

If he was being honest, when Obi-Wan had suggested Ezra being his teacher for the basics, he had actually scoffed mentally. He didn't think she had it in her to teach and had mistakenly weighed in her age and her own position as a Padawan to show her inexperience and incapability of teaching him. And if she was going to teach him and was even mildly successful, he still hadn't thought she'd be a hard teacher. Not even Jix had thought she'd be this kind of trainer.

He had been so, so wrong.

To his horror, Ezra was surprisingly a very strict and rigid tutor, not at all like her usual personality (which was another reason why he hadn't thought she'd be able to teach him seriously enough). It was amazing that a small, normally sweet (if mischievous) girl could be such a demanding instructor.

But he wasn't minding it too much, even at a time like this, when she was throwing –

A rock hit his shoulder then and he winced, concentration cut off and the assigned rock he'd been trying to lift with the Force dropped back to the ground. He had managed at least an inch off the ground, and he was disappointed that he hadn't managed much.

"You're not concentrating," she huffed, glaring at him.

"I was thinking," he muttered, getting more comfortable and then went back to staring at the stupid rock and focusing.

Still, like he said, he actually didn't mind it. Her teaching this way got things done and he found himself learning at a rapid pace, much to Ezra's exasperation. To no one's surprise, he noted that he found himself learning the combat aspect much easier, and was going through the kata of the first lightsaber form quickly and was on his way to the next form already. However, it was much harder for him to consciously summon the Force and use it, like he was trying to do now.

He was also _definitely_ not capable of using the Force to connect with living things.

"Perhaps it's time you let him have a break and we have our own training session," Obi-Wan cut in, sounding too amused for Kallus' liking.

Ezra pouted in disappointment, looking at Kallus thoughtfully. "…I guess. We can work on lightsaber forms later."

Kallus withheld his sigh of relief, though he allowed himself to relax a little. At least they would be doing something he was much more comfortable and capable of doing later. He sat down and even slumped a little, feeling actually exhausted. He hadn't thought having to use the Force would be so tiring, but he was feeling the exertion alright. Ezra and her Master made it look so easy.

"Want a drink?" Jix asked, coming closer as he held out a cup of water.

Kallus accepted it, breathing in and out deeply and trying to catch his breath. Still, he eyed his drink suspiciously.

"Not poisoned," Jix said wryly, but Kallus didn't trust him so that was moot.

Still, he took a tentative sip of it as he watched Obi-Wan and Ezra start doing their own lightsaber katas, ones Kallus was unfamiliar with yet. It was probably a more advanced set that he had yet to start on, so he might get to learn it later on at least.

"She learns pretty fast too," Jix observed. "If you're not paying attention, you might not notice. But if you're watching her, you can see she catches on pretty quick to everything that's being taught to her. Maybe she's a little behind in learning when it comes to combat compared to you, but overall across the board, she's pretty much a jack of spades," he used the Poker term, though Kallus wondered why he hadn't used a Sabacc term instead. "She still learns the lightsaber forms speedy enough and does fair in spars, but unlike you, she's also able to learn the other aspects of the Force right quick. It's kind of amazing."

Kallus nodded distractedly, watching as the two Jedi began to stretch to get ready for a spar.

"I do probably have the edge in learning the katas and everything else regarding Jedi combat," he said, knowing it had something to do with the fact he was already trained in fighting and excelled at it. "But when it comes to everything else, she's a better learner than I am. I have too much trouble connecting to the Force." Which probably had a lot to do with how he was brought up, the world he lived in and his previous Imperial alignment.

He'd been taught that the Force was a forbidden thing, something he wasn't supposed to allow. There was also the fact everyone had forgotten about it, and the Empire itself encouraged that. He was supposed to, _had_ been one of those who encouraged that. And the way he was –a hard, oft-times cold, and aggressive man –made it tough for him to connect to anyone or anything as just a person, so connecting on a deeper level to the Force and through it seemed like such an impossible task.

Jix patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You'll get it sooner or later. Plus, with the way she's teaching you…"

Kallus actually smiled a little. "Who would've thought? I'm surprised that she's capable of being so harsh."

Jix laughed quietly, to avoid attracting her attention. "Right? And she's such a small, sweet thing!"

"Don't let her deceive you," Kallus said dryly. "You've not seen her as an opponent and enemy. I've seen her defeat many of my soldiers and even thrown me back a time or two. And don't let me start in on her escape tactics. She's actually very good at escaping, no matter the situation. She's a mischievous brat too," he grumbled at that. "Says she's the Emperor's granddaughter. And tends to give out her name as 'Jabba the Hutt.'"

Jix couldn't help bursting out into loud laughter at that, and the two Jedi were interrupted from their spar and ended up looking over at them questioningly. Kallus coughed and waved them off, shaking his head.

"This girl…" Jix wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "She's a bit loony, isn't she?"

"A bit is an understatement," Kallus muttered. Still, he had always secretly enjoyed her antics and had quietly kept a soft spot for the girl ever since the first time they'd met and she'd been just some cynical sad thing that had actually drawn some sympathy from his usually cold-hearted self.

"So I was wondering if anyone's up for some lunch now?" Obi-Wan cut into their talk, when he and Ezra walked back over to them.

Kallus hadn't really noticed the time passing by. He also felt his own stomach rumble. "I believe food is more than acceptable now," he agreed.

"It's acceptable now, huh?" Ezra asked, playfully mockingly as she passed him. She lightly slapped the back of his head. "You are such a doofus."

His cheeks colored slightly, but he kept his face neutral. "Yeah, sure, brat."

Wait, was he supposed to address her as Master or something though? But she wasn't exactly not a Padawan herself. He tossed the question towards Obi-Wan's way, though Ezra looked eager to know herself.

"You're right, she's still a Padawan," Obi-Wan noted. "It's an unusual situation however, especially considering the world we live in nowadays and the lack of Jedi structure and the Order or Jedi all around. I, myself, was still a Padawan when I met Anakin. But my own Master at the time decided I was already ready for the Knight trials and would be knighted as soon as we got back from our mission, and so that he would then take on Anakin. He hadn't made it passed that mission, but I was still knighted and I took Anakin on as my own Padawan in honor of him. This isn't the same thing, but Ezra _is_ still the one teaching you, and the teacher has always been called Master to the Padawan. We can also take into account that Kanan himself is still technically a Padawan and had been teaching her."

"So that's a yes?" Ezra asked, eyes lighting up. At Obi-Wan's tentative nod, she turned to Kallus. "Let me hear it!" she crowed out.

Kallus rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Master_ Ezra."

Ezra clapped her hands in delight. "Oh, I'm enjoying this way too much," she told Jix, who snickered.

Ugh, he can't stand it when those two got to talking.

* * *

Okay, so she was supposed to be sleeping, but this was her chance. Besides, Kallus was exhausted and actually passed out, so there was no other better time for her to be doing this but now.

Biting her lip, she messed around with the wires. After she finished that, she went into the controls of the ship and tried to get around the code that Kallus had managed to program into it.

She said she'd play along and work with him on the planet. She never said she wouldn't try to contact Kanan. Quite the opposite!

"To be fair, I really do think he's well-meaning in keeping you here."

Ezra nearly jumped in her skin as she whirled around to face the owner of the voice, that being one Wrenga Jixton. Jix gave a small, casual wave as he leaned against a chair, obviously having been watching her for some time at least.

"I have to contact Kanan," she frowned at him.

"Sure, go ahead," he gestured to the controls. "I'm not going to stop you."

Confused and a little wary, she went back to her task. He spoke up again though.

"I just wonder…if you two are running away from something, wouldn't that something come just as running here to you as your Master? And when neither you nor Kallus are ready to fight back? He's still beginning to learn the basics and you've not finished your training."

Ezra winced, knowing he had a point. They were rather vulnerable right now. They may still have Obi-Wan, but it's been years since he'd fought seriously and there was no guarantee he would be fighting fit against the Inquisitors.

"If Kallus, as stoic as he may seem and try to be, is genuinely doing his best to keep you safe, perhaps you should give him leeway and allow him to do his 'mission' for a bit? Until the two of you think you're ready to fight back on equal terms," he suggested.

She frowned at that, but nodded. He was right and well…Kallus _was_ doing his best to secure her safety. And really, it was more for her safety than his or even theirs. It brought to mind again that he had seen her memories and things weren't the same between them anymore. Or the same with him. Or her.

It made her feel uneasy.

"Let's head back, okay?" Jix prodded gently. "Get some more sleep. I'm sure you and him have more training to do tomorrow."

Ezra nodded in acknowledgement and reluctantly turned the ship back off, going to Jix's side. Together, they walked out of there and headed back to Obi-Wan's.

It seemed as if this was going to take a really long time, and she and Kallus were stuck together indefinitely. It…hadn't sunk in for real until just then, but strangely, she didn't seem as bothered by the thought of being stuck on a planet with Kallus as she thought she would be.

Things really had changed, it seemed.

Started 11/2/16 – Completed 11/2/16


	14. People Everyday

The low thrum of the energy blades hummed in the air as they faced off, eying each other warily. With no warning, they rushed towards each other and their lightsabers clashed with a loud _vrrr_! The two quickly jumped back before they were on each other again. He was more precise while her moves were wilder, but the styles seemed suited to them and seemed to be matched evenly against each other.

They swung again and again at each other, but she was straining a bit more now. He was stronger physically, bigger, and had more experience in fighting than her. But she was more experienced in lightsaber duels and the Force, and she took advantage of that.

Using the Force, Ezra used it to fuel her body and swung at Kallus' head. Then she quickly let go with one of her hands, which she used to Force push him onto his back, where she then quickly took the advantage and swiped her blade against his neck and stopped him from moving back up.

"I yield," he said in resignation.

"Don't be so disappointed," Ezra grumbled. "You are _ridiculously_ good at this, and there are times –times that are steadily growing –where I either draw or lose to you."

They heard clapping and saw Jix. "Totally right! He _is_ ridiculously good at this crap. Did I ever tell you how I met him? At the fueling port, he was on the way back to your ship, when a group of guys confronted him, and he beat them all barehanded and without any help!"

Ezra made a noise of interest and came closer, and she listened eagerly while Jix continued excitedly talking about it. Kallus' eye twitched and he made to ignore them, inwardly grumbling to himself and tossing a glare at them as he picked up a towel and wiped the sweat off his face and neck. When he rejoined them inside the house, Obi-Wan was with them.

"How'd it go?" the older Jedi asked Ezra.

"Not bad," she sighed, glancing at Kallus. "He is definitely not going to be an easy opponent with the lightsaber soon enough. I'd almost bet money that he could go up against Kanan and beat him. Kanan's good, but not the best at this either. He's more on the mental and energy side of the Force kind of guy, and his lightsaber skills weren't the best starting out with me. He's gotten way better though, through practice and teaching me, since he's got a reason to use his Jedi skills more and someone to spar and learn with. Kallus, though, is just a freaking monster at fighting," she teased. "He's a natural."

"I see your styles differ also," Obi-Wan noted. "You're more of a Vaapad user," he told Ezra, "which relies a lot more on emotion. He's more of Shii Cho type, which is the basic and most predictable form and one all Jedi are required to learn, and also more logical and less emotion-focused. His mastery of it and ability to use the predictable form and moves of the style in an unpredictable way, matches the natural unpredictability of your style.

"Funny enough, while there have been users of both styles before –though Vaapad is a rarer form and there were not that many practitioners of it because of the use of emotions without losing control and instead being able to control and focus them –and have teamed up plenty of times, there has only been one pair that had been matched up and were actually Master and Padawan for a time. Lucien Draay and Zayne Carrick were quite the pair, though because their styles clashed and were opposites, it made it hard for Master Lucien to teach Zayne."

He laughed. "To be honest, you two are doing a much better job at it than they had." He also smirked then. "I also believe that you two have a tendency to mix in a bit of Soresu into your natural lightsaber styles –Kanan's preferred form, yes?"

At Ezra's blush and Kallus' confused look, Obi-Wan elaborated. "It's only natural to take on some of the characteristics of your Master from training with him. He, like his Master before him, learned and favored and also were naturally inclined towards Form III, to which he then taught you. Though you were more inclined towards another style, because he focused and taught you mostly through Soresu, it's been ingrained in you, and so you have then passed it on to Kallus."

The two of them looked at each other before looking away.

"So I think that's enough training for the both of you," Obi-Wan then said. "You need to rest too, you know."

"Do we really have the time for it?" Ezra asked skeptically, well aware of the situation and growing more worried as the days passed by.

"Rest is just as important," Obi-Wan advised. "If your body and mind are not rested, you will not be as effective and able to carry on to the best of your abilities."

Ezra grumbled, but conceded the point. Kallus, too, wasn't ready to just quit and wanted to continue on, but he had a feeling the older man was going to be very unhappy with them and willing to show them some Force tricks to show how unhappy he was…

"Well, I guess I have to go to the market," Ezra said thoughtfully. "I need some new underwear," which made all the males there look uncomfortable. "It would be nice to see if they have meiloorun fruits in stock, and maybe pick up a few tools. I was thinking of fixing up your old radio transmitter so we can at least listen to the news."

"Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Obi-Wan clapped his hands. "You are very welcome to it. Here, I'll lend you some more money."

"We need to find jobs," Kallus muttered.

"That's for later," Obi-Wan waved him off. "For now, you all must just continue to settle on this planet."

"Coriolan, want to come with me?" she asked and Kallus looked at her in surprise. He nodded and she gave him a bright smile. "Great! Let's go."

He followed after her and together they made their way into town on foot, braving the hot air and the sandy ground.

"I wish we could get a speeder," Ezra huffed.

Kallus actually let out a sigh. "That would make these trips infinitely faster and better."

She turned to him. "Okay, so you know me and I know you."

He blinked, not sure what was going on. Well, she was right, but he had no idea why she was bringing it up.

"You like to train, I sort of do, and most of all, we both realize that we really need to be in tip top shape and soon," Ezra said matter of fact. "I also know and get that Master Obi-Wan is going to kill us if we don't follow his direction. You saw it, right? He was advising us, but he had that 'General Obi-Wan' stare on his face."

Kallus winced and admitted that yeah…she was right.

"So I have an idea," Ezra threw out there. "We can't do any really heavy training, but I know you need to connect with the Force more and learn to trust and feel it. What I was thinking of was that while we're in town, I'm going to teach you to use the Force to sense others."

Kallus raised his eyebrows, but that did sound rather appealing and something he knew he really would like to learn to do.

"Okay, I'm willing," Kallus agreed and they moved even faster to do their best to reach the town already. Once there, Ezra led him to a quiet and high enough building where they could see over many areas of the town and overlooking the market specifically.

She sat cross-legged and he copied her.

"Close your eyes," she instructed him. "Start to enter a meditation state. Once there, try to look for the Force. I know you have trouble after finding it and going on to manipulate it, but this should be a more easier task since you won't be using the Force in a way that will require you to move things or something. You'll just be sensing."

"So once I connect with it, what do I do then? If I'm not attempting to manipulate it into doing something?" Kallus struggled to even his breaths and put his focus on it.

"Try to just merge into it. Let yourself fall into the Force and just…swim in it. Don't try to move it or push it, just go with the flow. Think of it like a current."

Kallus was skeptical, but he decided it was worth a try. So he did as she suggested and found himself connecting to the Force. Instead of being forceful with it like he usually was, and which never worked out, he instead just touched it gently and slowly moved into it. His essence (or whatever) at least.

All of a sudden, he could feel there were people all around him, more along the lines of down there to where he knew was where people were congregated at the market. He gasped and just silently and peacefully basked in the sense of everyone, along with the Force, and felt where they all were.

"Cor, you okay?" he heard Ezra's soft voice.

"Yes," he dazedly said.

"You're successful then?"

"I'm pretty sure," he took a deep breath.

"Good. Now feel for me."

"What?" He was tempted to open his eyes and break out of his trance.

"Since you seem to have gotten the hang of it, I want you to try to differentiate. Starting with me. You can try to use our Force bond to guide you and get you started, but after that, I want you to recognize me and see if you can tell the difference if you can remember how my presence feels and differs from others."

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to, but maybe he could since it _was_ Ezra and it should be easier since the two of them did share a bond.

"I'm starting," he said unnecessarily, trying to prep himself. Then he remembered where she physically was and used that and felt for their bond, and began to reach out to her. He tried to memorize her "imprint", and was pleased to be able to feel her…warmth? She was tired, but bright and cheery and happy and…something else that was fleeting and hard for him to grasp…

He could even smell her better, but he wasn't sure if it was because she was close or if this was just amplifying it, but he was uncomfortably aware of that fact.

But…she moved?

He could tell she had, without hearing her or seeing her. He just felt it through the Force.

"You're two feet to my left."

She clapped. "Nicely done! Okay, let's make this a little harder. How about trying random strangers?" She came closer to him. "Open your eyes."

When he did, he had to blink and steady himself.

"Come here," she had him crouch next to her. She pointed down at a blond man across from them. "Try to get a feel of that guy and then close your eyes once you have. He's on the move, so try to track him."

After a while of that, which was a lot harder than it had been for her (especially given they were all absolute strangers to him), she proposed another idea. He was much warier with it though, given the mischievous smile on her face as she eyed him, which had immediately put him on guard.

"We're going to be playing tag," she announced, which made him stare blankly at her. She smirked. "To be more precise, we're going to be playing cat and mouse. _I'm_ going to be the Loth-cat first –you'll be the little mouse."

Parts exasperation and amusement ran through him as he thought that his Master (that was going to take some time to get used to) was having way too much fun at his expense.

"Run."

He set off and didn't look back.

* * *

They're absolutely exhausted by the end of it, and probably had expended much more energy than they were allowed to. In an effort to stave off a lecture and probably a punishment for not resting like they should, the two of them collapsed into a diner and rested, relaxing into a booth.

Kallus hadn't expected the game to turn out to be so…fruitful. It had, despite being framed as a game, been a real exercise and training simulation, and surprisingly Kallus more often than not lost. If he wasn't losing by being unable to successfully get away from her, then he was losing by repeatedly being unable to catch her, which was all too reminiscent of the times where she was just some rebel he was unable to catch and never seemed able to.

She used every trick in the Jedi and streetrat book to get him or evade him. She was used to running around the streets, and though this wasn't Lothal, she was used to being able to use her surroundings, the people (especially crowds), and the buildings to get away from him, or to easily catch up to him and finds shortcuts to cut him off. And having been used to and more knowledgeable of the Force, she was able to use it as well, easily fueling her jumps and her speed with it, as well as yanking him back or tripping him using the Force. It was almost unbearable and humiliating.

And compared to his measly and rather pathetic in comparison handling of the Force compared to her, he was at least glad to be able to _try_ to use them in the game, and he just counted it as practice.

"I'm starving," Ezra declared, looking over the menu. "Ohh, we still have to find a junkyard or some place to buy some tools! And underwear. There may not be meiloorun fruit here, by I'm pretty sure this planet's got some place that sells tools and underwear."

"Hi, sorry to eavesdrop!" A blonde head appeared over the back of Ezra's booth seat and a young woman waved at them. "But I heard something about tools? I think I can help you guys out!"

Wary of strangers, even if they were young pretty girls like this one, Kallus was about to refute when Ezra smiled brightly and held out her hand.

"Hello! I'm Ezra!"

Kallus mentally smacked his palm against his forehead.

"I'm Luke Skywalker! Nice to meet you!"

_Luke_? What kind of name was Luke for a girl?

Started 1/15/17 – Completed 1/16/17


	15. Knives in Your Heart

Having a month pass by had been kind of strange for Ezra. She'd wished it hadn't been that long, being that she didn't really want to be separated from the others, but at the same time it really hadn't felt like so much time had passed.

So far, they really had settled down on the planet of Tatooine. They'd lived there for a bit now, and she could almost say they were a little adjusted to the planet and its hot and blistering climate. The sands were still a pain to travel through, but they were managing. They were even saving up for a speeder to make things easier on them, though Ezra kind of wanted to save the money. A part of her thought that maybe, though she initially was just as gung ho about the speeder as the rest, they should keep the money for something they would probably need in the future. It was a gut feeling, but her gut feelings had always helped her before.

On the other hand, Kallus was getting pretty good with the Force. The katas and the physical part of it came naturally to him, so obviously he was definitely great with that. But when it came to using the Force, he was steadily getting better with it. Which actually made her proud, given that she was teaching him and she hadn't even thought she could teach someone, much less teach Kallus. As for herself…

"You've come a long way," Obi-Wan told her, smiling slightly as he observed her. "You should be ready to be knighted any time now."

She gave him a sad smile. "I'm happy to hear that."

"You don't look happy," he noted, but he didn't seem surprised. Probably not. He was a "wise old hermit" (or something to that effect).

Ezra sighed. "I am happy…It's just that I'm also a little sad because I wanted Kanan to be here. He was my Master too and he'd helped me a lot from the cynical little brat I was. He helped me in a lot of things, not just in the ways of the Force. I thought he would be a part of this."

Obi-Wan clasped her shoulder. "I think he would be very proud of you right now, and if he could see you, he would probably be very happy to see how far you've come and that you're now teaching your own student."

She laughed at that. "I think he'd get a kick out of knowing Coriolan isn't just Force-sensitive but training to be a Jedi, and by me no less."

"I'm sure he would," Kallus said dryly, entering the conversation as he entered into the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" Jix asked, entering as well. "I would definitely be happy to have some food in my stomach before I'm off for work."

Kallus grunted, focusing on pouring himself a cup of coffee. Ezra rolled her eyes.

"Just something simple," she told him. "Sorry it's nothing."

"Nah, I'm good with anything so long it's edible," Jix said, already making a plate.

"Good luck with work," she said. "Luke's coming by later. Anything you'd want me to say to her?"

Jix faltered and amusingly fidgeted slightly. He cleared his throat. "N-nothing really. Probably just, uh, tell her sorry I missed her or something. Yeah…"

"Sure thing," Ezra smiled, trying not to let it turn into a smirk.

So, so amusing…

Jix hurriedly wolfed down the rest of his food before standing up abruptly. "So yeah, I have to get to work. Earn us some money and all, right? See you all later!"

The cocky man was quick to leave them behind and Ezra almost burst out laughing right then. Poor guy. Though it's been a month since they'd met Luke, Jix was like an awkward schoolboy around her, so very unlike his usual confident near arrogant self. The man obviously liked Luke and might even be falling head over heels for the blonde girl.

She still remembered the time they'd brought her over, straight after she'd ended up helping Ezra and Kallus buy the things they needed.

" _Yeah, that's right. We're staying with Old Ben," Ezra confirmed, though Luke was staring at her all wide-eyed and cutely curious._

" _Uncle Owen says he's a mad old hermit," Luke told them matter of fact. "Aunt Beru says not to listen too much to Uncle Owen, though she also says that Old Ben is kind of crazy and definitely some hermit that would rather keep to himself. I'd always wondered, but you know. They'd kill me if I'd actually went out and go ask him myself!"_

_Ezra giggled, ignoring Kallus behind them, who was quiet and probably grumpy, even if his stoic face didn't show it. She could feel his grumpiness! Though even without their bond, she would probably still be able to tell that, since she could just read Kallus easily._

" _We're here," Kallus interrupted them and she saw Obi-Wan's home. She wondered if he'd mind too much about them bringing in a stray teenager in need of cheek pinching. Luke's face still had some baby fat, making her look super cute, and a naïve, sweet personality to match._

_Ezra felt like one of those old ladies with the pinch-y fingers._

_Kallus, carrying all of the stuff and being the pack mule, went ahead and opened the door for them anyway. He entered first and held the door opened, and then she and Luke went in._

" _Hey, Ben!" she called out, knowing it was probably best to use his alias. "We've got company!"_

_When they entered, she just realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to invite some stranger (even if it was a seemingly sweet, cute girl her age) to come to a house that wasn't hers. That was more so as she realized Obi-Wan's surprised expression at seeing Luke, which quickly morphed into a friendly, benign one. Still, she'd already seen it, and she was also aware of it and the semi-hidden feelings lurking from her 2_ _nd_ _Master. Given their own, newer Force bond as a Master and Padawan, she could tell he felt uneasy and some other feeling at seeing Luke by their side._

" _So this is Luke," Ezra introduced, continuing on as normal, though she was sure that Kallus noted what she did, both as the ISB Agent he'd been trained as and also through their own bond. "We met her at the market and she kindly helped us out. Luke, this is Ben and our other friend, Wrenga Jixton. He prefers Jix."_

_And then she just noticed the expression on Jix's face, a mixture of intrigued, a different kind of disquiet than from Obi-Wan, and also the slightest of blushes that was barely noticeable on his face._

" _Hi," he said quietly and that was it._

_Ezra nearly chortled in wicked amusement, missing the disgruntled and slightly disturbed look coming from Kallus towards her. Obi-Wan also gave a quick look of unsureness._

_If they didn't appreciate the situation like she did, that was their problem though._

_This was_ _**golden** _ _._

* * *

Kallus inwardly sighed to himself, feeling tired. He'd just finished a round of brutal Force training, in which Ezra made him carry things of certain size and weight with just the Force, and as was expected with these kinds of exercises, he was exhausted out.

He rested as he watched Ezra and Luke chat, frowning as he watched them. He still didn't trust the blonde girl, though she was a frequent visitor to their "home." They all had come to like her, even he to a degree, but that meant nothing because he didn't trust easily and he didn't trust her. Period.

That said, what made it worse was that Ezra, for some reason and opposite her usual cautious self (because she was very cautious despite her seemingly easy demeanor), had somehow allowed some random girl they just met to know about their Force training and that Luke was now "in the know." It made him even more unhappy with this situation and more wary of Luke.

However, he kind of understood. He knew Ezra. They shared a bond, both Force and otherwise, and he was sure no one knew her as well as he did. And because of that, he knew she was lonely and had somehow –despite her situation and the life she'd lived –managed to find a kindred spirit. And another girl, someone she liked and easily befriended. That was a big thing to Ezra, who was normally alone (by choice and not) for the longest time, and had only recently in years let down her walls.

Which meant that he was all the more protective of her and not wanting anyone to betray the trust she so wanted to give out, because she was tired of being lonely.

Speaking of trust, he still didn't trust Jix fully after all this time. Something about the man nagged at Kallus, and he wouldn't rest until he found out what secret he was hiding. But he didn't mind him as much as before, strangely enough. It helped that Jix had found some work and was earning them money. And, to his exasperation and irritation, Ezra liked Jix and thought he was hilarious.

Watching Luke again, he tried to lighten his scowl and look fairly normal about everything.

"We're going to go into town," Ezra suddenly announced.

Kallus straightened, trying not to feel alarmed, which he failed at seeing as how Ezra quickly gave him a look.

"Luke and I want to shop around, trying to find a cheap speeder or something. Who knows, maybe we'll find something we need that we hadn't even thought of?" Ezra shrugged. "Coriolan, work on your meditation some more. Try to make it more natural and easier for you to connect to the Force."

"Actually, I'd like to come with you," Kallus said smoothly. "There might be something _I_ need there that I might find."

Ezra tossed him an irritated glare that he returned with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounds good to me," Luke said cheerfully, oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

"Behave, children," Obi-Wan said as a double entendre, and while Luke could interpret it as them behaving over in town and saying bye, he and Ezra both knew he was warning them right now.

"Yeah, yeah," Ezra grumbled, giving another irritated look to Kallus. He ignored it.

Soon enough the trio was walking through the sandy plain for a while, quiet until they finally reached town. He stayed silent behind the girls as they became talkative again. To his amusement, he found them being unusually girly as they pointed at clothing, and the two even began whispering and pointing at men, oftentimes giggling. He grimaced at that, though he also felt another odd emotion that he didn't delve too much into.

To his consternation, there was a fight beginning near them, and he could hear the shouting from all the way where they were. He saw Ezra frowning and he knew she was getting the urge to involve herself, something that had been taught to her by the others and something she had always had a little of in herself. But, to his relief, she was still holding onto a little bit of that streetwise, wary kid she'd been and was hesitating. She was debating with herself and he was going to just subtly push her to turn away and use their cover and being in hiding as some excuse.

But even before he could say or do anything, he also saw Luke watching the trouble and looking troubled and sad. One look at Luke from Ezra and he knew Ezra would do anything to make that girl smile. He inwardly grumbled and huffed. There was no kriffing way he was going to let those two involve themselves with this riffraff and get in the mix of things.

He sighed again and resigned himself to his fate, marching forward and taking care of the situation.

"Separate!" he barked out, putting on his fiercest glare and physically separating the two main fighters. The rest of the rabble that had chosen to pitch in after the initial fight quailed away from him at his glare. "Keep fighting and I'll beat the two of you into a pulp myself," he threatened when the two began getting agitated and moving towards each other angrily again. They backed off and watched him warily.

"Hey! Let go of her!" he heard Luke screaming. Let go of… _her_?!

Whirling around to face the direction he'd come from, he saw a group of men of different species harassing Ezra and Luke, and in particular had grabbed onto Ezra and was attempting to take her away, though she had dug in her heels to the ground.

He would normally not be worried because he knew she could easily take the likes of them. But, given that they were trying to keep a low profile and especially absolutely not reveal anything about the Force, Ezra would have to attempt to find some other way to fight them off (not that he didn't think she could, because she totally could defend herself without obvious use of the Force –she had for her past before meeting Kanan). There was also that Kallus was having none of this and refused to just let things go. He was pretty irritable by now, bordering on being pissed off, and he wasn't ever going to allow anyone to lay a hand on Ezra, much less harm her in any way, her able to defend herself or not.

He began to stalk over to there, fury plainly overtaking his face, when Luke shouted out at the men, her face all red and bluster.

"You can't take her! She's his wife!" the blonde farm girl pointed at him, and though his face didn't change from its furious look, he kind of stopped short and had to process that again.

What did Luke just call Ezra?

However, strangely enough, the men stopped and let go of a just as confused Ezra, while the men began to grow anxious and trade looks with each other. They began muttering and discussing something amongst themselves.

"Yeah, that's right," Luke scowled. "The Hutts don't like taking slaves from marriages. You really want to start something?"

Kallus was beyond confused. What? What in the galaxies was going on? He had no idea what was happening or why being married had to do with anything, especially since he and Ezra were in fact not married.

And even if that was the case, what the hell did the Hutts care about that crap? It made no sense to him why that would matter to them.

But the group of Jabba the Hutt's men did indeed begin to leave, glancing skittishly at him and then Ezra, before they were setting off.

Though he didn't know why, apparently being married did actually matter to Jabba.

Luke laughed nervously, swinging her hands about apprehensively.

"So, uh…congratulations on your new marriage?" she said sheepishly.

"I'm confused?" Ezra whined.

"Me too," he grumbled.

Started 5/17/17 – Completed 5/19/17


End file.
